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The Detroit Pistons travel to the Toyota Center to take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Both these teams have won four out of their last five games and Detroit enters this matchup having won two in a row including a big win over the league leaders Toronto Raptors last November 14th. Meanwhile, the Rockets have picked it up after a slow star and are looking to win their fifth game in a row against the Pistons.
Off To A Good Start
The Detroit Pistons are off to a good start to their 2018-19 campaign as the Motor City squad is currently at 8-6 and 3rd in the Central Division. The Pistons have won four out of their last five games and are on a two game winning streak entering this contest with the first of those two wins coming at the expense of the league leading Toronto Raptors.
An interesting fact about the Pistons season is that they lead the league in technical fouls with already 15 this early in the season. Detroit picked up 4 technical fouls in their most recent win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Center Andre Drummond leads the team with 7 technical fouls already while Blake Griffin has three on the season.
Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets 11/21/18
Moneyline Odds: Pistons +320, Rockets -380
Odds from betonline.ag as of 11/21/18
Regaining Their Swagger
When the Rockets lost four games in a row last month, head coach Mike D’Antoni said that his team needed to regain their swagger. Well that’s what his team has just done recently as the Rockets have now won four in a row to climb over the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Reigning NBA MVP James Harden leads the Rockets with 27.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.33 steals per game as he hopes to lead the Rockets back to the Western Conference Finals. Chris Paul is averaging 17.5 points and 7.6 assists for the Rockets as well while Clint Capela is putting up a double double with 16.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Who Wins?
The Detroit Pistons hold a slim lead in their all-time series 71-67 and have won five out of the last 8 games between these two teams. Detroit swept their 2016 season series 2-0 but the teams have battled to an even 1-1 draw in the previous two seasons. The last time these teams played was last March 22, 2018 at the Toyota Center and the Rockets prevailed 100-96 in overtime.
After a slow start, the Rockets seem to have regained the swagger that Mike D’Antoni was talking about. Now they are starting to show their true form and win games. It’s four in a row now for Houston and despite Detroit off to a strong start, I don’t think the Pistons can match Houston on both ends of the court. With Harden and Paul humming, I think the Rockets win this home game.
We’re picking the Houston Rockets to beat the Detroit Pistons on 11/21/18.
Other Bets To Make
Detroit is 7-7 ATS in 14 games played this season and are an impressive 5-2 ATS in seven road games played so far. On the other hand, the Rockets are 7-8 ATS in 15 games played so far and are 3-4 ATS in their 7 home games played this season. Head to head, the Pistons are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against the Rockets, including 3-0 ATS in their last 3 overall meetings.
Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets 11/21/18
Spread Odds: Pistons +8.5 (-110), Rockets -8.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 11/21/18
The Rockets seem to have gotten their form back as they are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four games played. The Pistons are off to a good start and give credit to Dwane Casey for that. But an in-form Houston team is still much better than an in-form Detroit squad.
Prediction: Rockets -8.5 (-110)
The over and under are an even 7-7 in Detroit’s 14 games this season and the total has gone over in 4 out of Detroit’s 7 road games played so far. The under is 8-7 in Houston’s 15 games this season but the total has gone over in 4 out of the Rockets’ 7 home games played so far. Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five games between these teams and the under is 3-1 in their last 4 meetings in Houston.
Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets 11/21/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 215 -110, Under 215 -110
Odds from betonline.ag as of 11/21/18
The total has gone under in the last four meetings between these teams. The Rockets’ defense has tightened up a little during the last two weeks and they have given up an average of 97 points per game in their last 8 games played. It doesn’t also help that the Rockets rank 26th in scoring while the Pistons are 14th in that department.
Prediction: Under 215
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