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The Detroit Pistons will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Pistons-Thunder prediction and pick.
Unfortunately for both of these teams, neither has much at stake in this game. The Pistons are fighting for the worst record in the NBA instead of a postseason spot, as they enter this game with an absolutely abysmal 21-56 record. That mark is only better than the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets. The Thunder haven’t fared much better, going 22-54 over the course of the season. because both of these teams are terrible, this game should be a close and exciting one. Let’s cut to the chase and get into the pick.
Here are the Pistons-Thunder NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Pistons-Thunder Odds
Detroit Pistons: -5 (-110)
Oklahoma City Thunder: +5 (-110)
Over: 221 (-110)
Under: 221 (-110)
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Why The Pistons Could Cover The Spread
While Detroit hasn’t been good on defense, they’ve been good enough to put a stop to this Thunder offense. The Pistons allow 112 points per game while allowing a 47% shooting percentage from the field. Both of those are bottom-ten numbers in the NBA, but that shouldn’t matter too much against Oklahoma City. The Thunder have been one of, if not the, worst offensive teams in the league. They only score 103 points per game, and they rank inside the bottom five in the league in nearly major offensive stat, including shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage, and shooting efficiency. Slowing down the Thunder isn’t difficult, so the Pistons should be up to the task here.
The majority of the starting five that Oklahoma City deployed at the start of the year won’t appear in this game. Several starters have already been shut down for the season, leaving the Thunder with one of the worst starting fives in the NBA. To make matters even worse, starting shooting guard Tre Mann has been ruled out of this game because of a knee injury. The Thunder will be forced to deploy Theo Maledon, Vit Krejci, Aaron Wiggins, Aleksej Pukosevski, and Isaiah Roby as their starters here. That’s a recipe for disaster, even against the Pistons.
Why The Thunder Could Cover The Spread
Much like the Pistons, the Thunder’s defense should be somewhat effective here. Oklahoma City has been relatively strong on that end of the floor this season, giving up 111 points per game while holding their opponents to 45% shooting from the field. The Thunder also allowed fairly low shooting efficiency and effective field goal numbers. All of those solid statistics should hold up against a terrible Detroit offense that has struggled in almost every single matchup this season.
Home court should give the Thunder a slight advantage in this matchup. Oklahoma City has a 19-15-4 record against the spread at home this season, while the Pistons have been absolutely awful when playing away from home. Detroit is an astounding 8-30 on the road. This is also the first time this season that the Pistons have walked into an opposing arena as the betting favorite. The Thunder could manage a cover in this matchup.
Final Pistons-Thunder Prediction & Pick
It’s just impossible to trust this Thunder lineup in nearly any game. The Pistons have been playing decent basketball recently, and that should continue against this Oklahoma City unit. Take Detroit with confidence.
Final Pistons-Thunder Pick: Detroit Pistons: -5 (-110)