PREMIUM
GAME OF THE YEAR (NBA) ~ ROGERS 2017 NBA OF THE YEAR! (OFF 5-0 SWEEP!)
(NBA) Detroit vs. Toronto,
Point Spread: -6.50 | -107.00 Toronto (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -6.50 | -107.00 Toronto (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 25-29 Detroit Pistons are in Canada tonight to take on the 32-22 Toronto Raptors. The Pistons are off a 103-92 Friday home loss to the Spurs, after having started to trend in the right direction with four wins in the team's previous five games. In contrast, not much has gone right for the Raptors, who enter this contest off a 112-109 Wednesday loss at Minnesota, the team's ninth in its last 13 games.
Detroit: Despite the loss to the Spurs, the Pistons are back to playing well at home with seven wins in their last nine contests at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Center Andre Drummond (14.7 & 13.8) posted his 35th double-double of season in Friday's loss and is surrounded up front by the trio of Harris (16.4 & 5.1), Morris (14.2 & 4.5) and Leuer (11.1& 5.6). Harris is the team's leading scorer but recently, Van Gundy has been starting Leuer. The starting backcourt is PG Jackson (15.5 & 5.6 APG) and SG Caldwell-Pope (14.1), with Ish Smith (8.4 & 4.9 APG) coming off the bench. Despite some recent problems, the Pistons still rank 5th in points allowed (101.5 per) but note that Detroit ranks 20th in opponents' FG percentage (45.9%)
Toronto: The Raptors made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and were tied at 2-all with the Cavs but then got blown out in Games 5 & 6. They opened this season 22-8 (thru Dec. 26) but have since been a sub-.500 team, falling behind both Boston and Washington into the 4th-seed in the East. The backcourt of DeRozan (27.9 & 5.3) and Lowry (23.0-4.7-7.0) can be deadly but DeRozan has had nagging injuries and Lowry is capable of going into prolonged shooting slumps. Other than center Valanciunas (12.3 & 9.9), steady contributions by the remaining roster have been few and far between.
The pick: The Pistons' starters were outscored 82-54 and outrebounded 39-27 by Spurs' and you know that's bad news with Detroit's lack of depth. Yes, Detroit has six double digit scorers plus Smith just misses, but the Pistons rank only 24th in points scored (101.5 PPG) and that's not good enough against the Raptors, who rank 5th at 109.2 PPG. Toronto averages 112.7 PPG at home, while the Pistons are just 9-18 SU and 10-17 ATS on the road this season. A key component to this YUGE play on the Raptors is that Toronto has been off since Wednesday, the team's first three-day break of the season. 10* on Toronto.
Detroit: Despite the loss to the Spurs, the Pistons are back to playing well at home with seven wins in their last nine contests at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Center Andre Drummond (14.7 & 13.8) posted his 35th double-double of season in Friday's loss and is surrounded up front by the trio of Harris (16.4 & 5.1), Morris (14.2 & 4.5) and Leuer (11.1& 5.6). Harris is the team's leading scorer but recently, Van Gundy has been starting Leuer. The starting backcourt is PG Jackson (15.5 & 5.6 APG) and SG Caldwell-Pope (14.1), with Ish Smith (8.4 & 4.9 APG) coming off the bench. Despite some recent problems, the Pistons still rank 5th in points allowed (101.5 per) but note that Detroit ranks 20th in opponents' FG percentage (45.9%)
Toronto: The Raptors made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and were tied at 2-all with the Cavs but then got blown out in Games 5 & 6. They opened this season 22-8 (thru Dec. 26) but have since been a sub-.500 team, falling behind both Boston and Washington into the 4th-seed in the East. The backcourt of DeRozan (27.9 & 5.3) and Lowry (23.0-4.7-7.0) can be deadly but DeRozan has had nagging injuries and Lowry is capable of going into prolonged shooting slumps. Other than center Valanciunas (12.3 & 9.9), steady contributions by the remaining roster have been few and far between.
The pick: The Pistons' starters were outscored 82-54 and outrebounded 39-27 by Spurs' and you know that's bad news with Detroit's lack of depth. Yes, Detroit has six double digit scorers plus Smith just misses, but the Pistons rank only 24th in points scored (101.5 PPG) and that's not good enough against the Raptors, who rank 5th at 109.2 PPG. Toronto averages 112.7 PPG at home, while the Pistons are just 9-18 SU and 10-17 ATS on the road this season. A key component to this YUGE play on the Raptors is that Toronto has been off since Wednesday, the team's first three-day break of the season. 10* on Toronto.
