The Detroit Pistons will try to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals when they entertain the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 pm ET on Amazon Prime. Detroit is looking to maintain momentum after prevailing 111-101 on Tuesday.
Let’s dive into my Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 2 prediction.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons odds
Money line: Cavaliers +132 / Pistons -154
Spread: Cavaliers +3 (-110) / Pistons -3 (-110)
Total: Over 215.5 (-110) / Under 215.5 (-110)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons best bet: Pistons -3 (-110)
Putting a slow start to the playoffs in the past, the Pistons are rolling along nicely with plenty of momentum. They roared back from a 3-1 deficit against Orlando in the first round, dominating the last three games of that series. Cade Cunningham and company then made mostly routine work of the series opener against Cleveland. They led basically the entire way, even building a 16-point lead by the end of one quarter. The Cavs certainly did not play well on Tuesday. They need to get more aggressive after attempting a mere 16 free-throws (by comparison, the Pistons attempted 35). Additionally, the visitors committed 18 turnovers (the Pistons turned the ball over just 11 times). Cleveland really didn’t play particularly well in round one, either, and required seven games to get past Toronto.
Cavs shooting guard Sam Merrill, who backs up Donovan Mitchell, is questionable for Game 2. He left Game 1 with a hamstring injury after playing only seven minutes. Merrill averaged 12.2 points per game during the regular season and logged more than 20 minutes per game against the Raptors in round one. Regardless of Merrill’s status, Cleveland really needs Mitchell to heat up. The all-star has scored no more than 24 points in any of the last six outings.
The Cavaliers are 1-5 against the spread in their last six overall and 0-4 ATS in their last four road games. The Pistons are 3-0 ATS in their last three overall.