Friday night’s five-game schedule in the NBA is headlined by a double-header on ESPN. It tips off with an Eastern Conference showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Cavaliers come in with a 37-23 record, while the Pistons are atop the East at 43-14.
Let’s dive into my Cavaliers vs. Pistons prediction.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons odds
Money line: Cavaliers +220 / Pistons -270
Spread: Cavaliers +7 (-114) / Pistons -7 (-106)
Total: Over 225.5 (-108) / Under 225.5 (-112)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons best bet: Pistons -7 (-106)
These two teams may end up colliding in the Eastern Conference semis or even finals, but that potential playoff series probably wouldn’t resemble what we will see on Friday. Cleveland is missing Donovan Mitchell, who is sidelined by a groin injury. It goes without saying that the Cavaliers are a much different team without Mitchell’s 28.5 points and 5.8 assists on the floor. With Mitchell out and the Pistons in awesome form, a heavy-underdog Cleveland club may opt to simply punt this game — especially if the visitors fall behind early. After all, they are only worried about getting healthy at the right time — for the playoffs (which wasn’t the case last year). Right now, they aren’t. Joining Mitchell on the injury report are James Harden (thumb), Dean Wade (ankle), and Dennis Schroder (ankle). They are all day-to-day.
The Cavs probably know they will have their hands full even if they have some of those aforementioned players at their disposal for this one. The Pistons are at home and bring a 9-2 record in their last 11 games into this contest. They are 22-7 at Little Caesars Arena this season and just took care of Oklahoma City 124-116 at home on Wednesday. Jalen Duren was suspended only two games for his role in a recent brawl with Charlotte earlier this month, so he is back in action. In three appearances since that fracas, these are the all-star center’s stat lines: 26 points and 13 rebounds; 25 points and 14 rebounds; 29 points and 15 rebounds.
These two teams most recently went head-to-head on January 4. Detroit prevailed 114-110 even though the game was in Cleveland, the Pistons were missing Duren, and the Cavs had Mitchell. Cleveland is 1-3 against the spread in its last four games and 1-3 ATS in the last four head-to-head meetings. The Pistons are 5-2 ATS in their last seven overall.