Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers

By Sam Batz

The Detroit Pistons travel to Cleveland on Wednesday, Feb. 8th to face their Central Division rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the third time this season The two sides played twice back in November and Detroit had the home court advantage in both. Now it’s Cleveland’s turn to play host to the Pistons, as Detroit hits the road after a three-game stretch at home. 

The Detroit Pistons are 14-41 and are currently last place (15th seed) in the East. The Piston’s are one of four teams who have yet to break the 20 win threshold, they are 2-8 in the last 10 games, and have lost back-to-back matchups. In other words, the Pistons are not having a great season. They are currently tied with the Houston Rockets for the most losses (41) thus far, and are the Eastern Conference’s punching bag, as they have the worst in-conference record (6-24) in the East. Detroit is 24.5 games behind the conference leaders, and 23.5 games behind their division leader, meaning we can safely say, in all likelihood, that the Pistons will not see the postseason. However, they will be favorites to win the first-overall pick in this year’s draft lottery, which is the only positive result I can glean from this team’s season.

At the other end of the standings, sit the Cavaliers. Cleveland is currently the 4th seed in the East, with a 34-22 record. The Cavs are 6-4 in their last 10 games, but made it three consecutive victories after beating the Washington Wizards, 114-91, on Monday. The Cavaliers have their unbreakable defense to thank for the recent success, as they remain the top-ranked defense in the NBA, and for good reason. In their last 5 games, the Cavs averaged a remarkably low 101.2 opponent points per game. On the season, they are allowing just 106.5 opponent points per game, and have allowed the fourth fewest total points (5,966) in the league. On the offensive side of the ball, Cleveland relies heavily on their backcourt. Specifically, shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (26.8 points per game) and point guard Darius Garland (22.0 points per game). 

 

Pistons vs. Cavaliers Season Stats 

Detroit Pistons (14-41) Points/Game: 112.3 (24th)* Opponent Points/Game: 119.7 (29th) Field Goal Percentage: 45.5% (26th) Three-Point Percentage: 35.8% (17th) Turnovers/Game: 14.9 (20th) Offensive Rating: 110.8 (27th) Defensive Rating: 118.0 (29th) Away Record (win-rate): 7-20 (25.9%) Conference Record (win-rate): 6-24 (20%)

Cleveland Cavaliers (34-22) Points/Game: 111.8 (26th) Opponent Points/Game: 106.5 (1st)* Field Goal Percentage: 48.7% (6th)* Three-Point Percentage: 36.9% (10th)* Turnovers/Game: 14.0 (12th)* Offensive Rating: 114.7 (10th)* Defensive Rating: 109.3 (1st)* Home Record (win-rate): 22-6 (78.6%) Conference Record (win-rate): 20-10 (66.7%)

 

Pistons vs. Cavaliers In Their Last 10 Games

Detroit Pistons Record: 2-8 Points Per Game: 111.8 Opponent Points Per Game: 119.8 Field-Goal Percentage: 46.1% Point Differential: -8.0

Cleveland Cavaliers Record: 6-4 Points Per Game: 112.7 Opponent Points Per Game: 104.0 Field-Goal Percentage: 50.8% Point Differential: +8.7

 

Pistons vs. Cavaliers Odds

Betting odds courtesy of PointsBet:

Team	Spread	Total	Moneyline
Detroit Pistons	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cleveland Cavaliers	N/A	N/A	N/A

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Pistons vs. Cavaliers Bettings Trends

Detroit Pistons 24-30-1 record ATS this season 14-12-1 record ATS on the road 11-19 record ATS against the East 29-26 O/U record this season 2-8 O/U record in the last 10 games 13-39 record as the Underdogs 7-19 record as the Underdogs on the road

Cleveland Cavaliers 29-25-2 record ATS this season 17-9-2 record ATS at home 16-12-2 record ATS against the East 25-31 O/U record this season 3-7 O/U record in the last 10 games 31-14 record as the Favorites 21-6 record as the Favorites at home

Pistons vs. Cavaliers All-Time Series

The Pistons and Cavaliers kicked off their series in 1970, and from then till now, have played a total of 231 regular season games and 21 playoff games. Lately, the Pistons have struggled, but historically against the Cavaliers, Detroit holds the series lead with 132 wins. However, the Cavs and Pistons have already played twice this year, both ending in a Cavalier victory. In fact, Cleveland has won three consecutive games against the Pistons, and now seek their 100th all-time win over Detroit on Wednesday.  

 

Prediction

Take the Cavaliers in this one. ESPN Analytics is giving Cleveland a 90.3% chance to win the game, and while that may seem excessive, it is also accurate. Cleveland out-ranks Detroit in nearly every metric, and a win for the Pistons would be a massive upset. It would be a risky bet to take the Pistons, but if a high-risk, high-reward situation is in the cards, look no further. However, I can’t in good conscience advocate for such a risky wager. To put it plainly, the Pistons are terrible. The Cavaliers have more home wins (22) than Detroit has total wins (14). Detroit’s offense is led by the 33-year old Bojan Bogdanović’s 21.4 points per game, and with Cade Cunningham and Marvin Bagley III out, the Piston’s will look to the 8th year veteran to do most of the scoring. However, Bogdanović has recorded a lowly 12.7 points per game versus the Cavaliers over his career, and if he truly is the Piston’s best option on offense, they are in for a long-night against Clevelands tyrannical defense. 

Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers Moneyline and the Under.

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