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The Detroit Pistons host the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night at the Little Caesars Arena in a must-win game for the home team.
Need To Win Out
The Pistons have fallen from six place in the Eastern Conference to possibly missing the playoffs for the third straight season. Detroit has lost four straight games and with two games left to play they are holding on to the final playoff spot in the East with the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat both one game behind them. The Pistons will have to win out their remaining games to ensure they make the postseason for only the second time in a decade.
Blake Griffin leads the Pistons with 24.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. His frontcourt partner Andre Drummond is having a monster season with 17.3 points, 15.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Reggie Jackson is also contributing 15.3 points and 4.2 assists per game for Detroit while Luke Kennard, Ish Smith and Langston Galloway combine for 26.6 points per game off the bench.
Detroit ranks 25th in the entire NBA in team scoring at 107.0 points per game. They are also fifth from the bottom in the passing department with only 22.6 assists per game. The Pistons are the 19th best team off the glass with an average of 44.9 rebounds per contest. Detroit has the 7th best scoring defense overall with 107.7 opponent points per game allowed.
Grizzlies
+325
Pistons
-417
Odds from betonline.ag as of 4/09/19
End of An Era
The Grizzlies are looking forward to the offseason where they can start rebuilding from the Grit and Grind era. After several playoff runs in the previous decade, only Mike Conley remains from that core with Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol all gone. Gasol was the last to go but Memphis got a promising big man in Jonas Valanciunas in exchange for the Big Spaniard.
Conley is having a great season after spending most of last year on the bench with an injury. He is averaging 21.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Valanciunas is having a double-double average in Memphis at 19.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. is also another bright spot with 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Memphis is the lowest scoring team in the league at only 103.3 points per game. They are also next to last in rebounding with only 41.7 boards grabbed per contest. The Grizzlies rank 18th in passing with an average of 24.0 assists per game. For all their struggles this season, Memphis ranks 4th in the entire NBA with just 106.1 opponent points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Grizzlies are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played and Memphis is 2-3 SU in their last five games played on the road. The Pistons are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played and Detroit is 2-2 SU in their last four games played at home. Head to head, the Grizzlies are 6-4 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Pistons. Memphis is also 8-2 SU when playing on the road against Detroit.
The Pistons have suddenly plummeted from 6th place to fighting for their playoff lives. But all is not lost as they are still one game ahead of the Hornets and Heat. If the Pistons can win out their remaining games, then neither Charlotte or Miami can catch them in the standings. They just need to win two games in a row though.
Good thing for Detroit, Memphis is playing short-handed with Mike Conley, Avery Bradley and Jonas Valanciunas out of commission with various injuries. On the other hand, the Pistons have their full roster at Dwane Casey’s disposal. All they have to do is keep their act together. Playing at home helps because the Pistons are 25-15 SU at home while the Grizzlies are just 12-28 SU on the road.
I expect Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond to put up a huge effort for the home team. The Pistons have gone too deep to simply just fade away in the final two weeks of the season. With their fate still in their hands, look for a big game from Blake Griffin with the rest of the squad feeding off him. I’m picking the Detroit Pistons to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on 4/9/19.
Other Bets To Make
Memphis is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Grizzlies are 3-2 ATS in their last five games played on the road. Detroit is 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Pistons are 2-2 ATS in their last four games played at home. Head to head, the Grizzlies are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games against the Pistons and Memphis is 9-1 ATS when playing in Detroit.
Grizzlies
+9 (-109)
Pistons
-9 (-109)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 4/09/19
The Grizzlies are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against Central Division teams, 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games against the Eastern Conference and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games when playing on one-day rest. The Pistons are 0-4 ATS in their last four games when playing on one-day rest, 0-4 in their last four games overall but are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 home games. Detroit is also 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games against the Western Conference and 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games against an opponent with a road winning percentage of below .400. Detroit wins this because of their need and because they are at home. Prediction: Pistons
The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games played by Memphis. The over is 3-2 in the Grizzlies’ last five games played on the road. The total has gone under in four out of the last six home games played by Detroit. Head to head, the over is 2-1 in the last three games between these two teams. The total has also gone over in four out of the last six games between the Grizzlies and Pistons when playing in Detroit.
Grizzlies
O 210.5 (-110)
Pistons
U 210.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 4/09/19
Memphis is known for its slow offense and tough defense but with their season over, they may be trying out their new weapons on hand, causing the over to go 9-3 in their last 12 games overall. The over is also 9-4 in Detroit’s last 14 games so with their season on the line, I expect the Pistons to throw the full arsenal at the Grizzlies in a high scoring match. Prediction: Over
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