Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers 12/28/18 NBA Odds, Preview and Prediction

The Detroit Pistons travel to the Hoosier State to take on the Indiana Pacers in a battle between Central Division rivals on Friday 12/28/18 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pistons enter this game having beaten the Washington Wizards 106-95 at home on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Pacers are fresh off a 129-121 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks also on Wednesday night.

Back At Square One

The Detroit Pistons were off to a 13-7 start this season but the team quickly sank in the team standings with a six game losing streak to open the month of December. Now the Pistons are back at square one at 16-16 on the season. With two more games left to play before the new year, the Pistons hope to close 2018 with a winning record.

Detroit is 21st in the league in scoring at 108.3 points per game and are ranked 25th in the passing department with 22.1 assists per game. The Pistons are the 7th best rebounding team in the NBA with an average of 46.9 rebounds per game. The Motor City team is 12th in scoring defense, allowing 109.1 points per game.

Pacers are Peaking

The Indiana Pacers survived with Victor Oladipo in the injured list. Now that he’s back, the Pacers are peaking and winning games left and right. Indiana picked up its third straight win against Atlanta and they have now won nine out of their last 11 games to shoot up to second place in the Central Division at 23-12 and as of Wednesday, they trail the Milwaukee Bucks by just one game.

Indiana is the top defensive team in the NBA, allowing only 101.2 points per game this season. The Pacers are also 8th in the passing department with their 25.2 assists per game average. However, Indiana is scoring just 106.8 points per game, 24th in the league. They are also just 22nd in rebounding at 44.1 boards per game.

Who Wins?

The Pistons and Pacers have played a total of 190 regular season games and the Pacers lead their all-time series 97-93. Indiana has won four out of their last six meetings overall and five out of the last six in Indiana.

The Pistons were off to a good start to the season but they’ve been very streaky and inconsistent all season long. They’ve had a winning streak of 5 games and losing streaks of 5 and 6 games recently. Since the start of December, the Pistons have not won back to back games. They have a chance to do that here but will be hard-pressed to do so against a peaking Pacers team.

The Pacers have won 9 of 11 and are 6-2 since Oladipo’s return. At 8-2, the Pacers have the second best Last 10 Games record in the East as of Wednesday. Only the Brooklyn Nets who are 9-1 in their last 10 are better. Indiana is also 17-5 SU against the East while the Pistons are only 12-13 SU against their conference rivals.

Other Bets To Make

The Pistons are 4-7-1 ATS in their last 12 games played. Detroit is 14-6 ATS in their last 20 road games played. On the other side, the Pacers are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games played and Indiana is also 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games versus Detroit. Furthermore, the Pacers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games against the Pistons.

The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Pistons. The under is also 4-1 in Detroit’s last five road games. The total has gone under in 13 out of the last 15 games played by the Pacers. The under has also hit in four out of the last six meetings between these teams. The under is likewise 4-2 in their last six meetings in Indiana.