Losing at Home?
Playing four games in five nights didn’t present any problems for the Detroit Pistons. After a day of rest, however, they looked like a tired team.
The Central-leading Pistons look to rebound from their second home loss of the season when they host the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday.
Oddsmakers from Bodog have made Detroit -12 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 187.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 63% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -12 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
During a five-game win streak that ended with Friday’s 98-91 loss to Chicago, Detroit (13-6) averaged 108.2 points and outrebounded opponents four times. The final four of those victories came during a five-day span.
The Pistons were outrebounded 32-19 in the first half on Friday after having Thursday off. Although his team only trailed 45-43 at halftime, Detroit coach Flip Saunders knew his players was struggling.
"The way they rebounded and the way we rebounded, we could have been down 20," he said. "It was a two-point game, but I was not at all comfortable with the way we were playing."
Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 27 points and Richard Hamilton added 24, but Detroit never found the balanced attack that is usually its trademark.
"When you are struggling to get anything going and one guy gets something going, you tend to keep going with him,” Billups said. "But one guy isn’t usually going to be enough."
This will be the sixth game in nine days for the Pistons, who have split their last four at home after opening 4-0 at The Palace.
Friday’s loss was only Detroit’s second in 11 games this season against the Eastern Conference. Boston (14-2) is the only NBA team with a better record against its own the conference than the Pistons.
The Bobcats ended a seven-game losing streak Saturday with a 96-93 home victory over Cleveland, which is still without LeBron James.
Gerald Wallace scored 22 points and Raymond Felton went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 16 seconds. Ending the skid with clutch free-throw shooting was particularly satisfying for the Bobcats, who are the league’s second-worst team at the line.
"The way we won and the things that we did good at the end gave us a lot of confidence," Wallace said. "We’ve been struggling all season with our free throws, and we were able to hit our free throws when it counted."
Back in the win column for the first time since Nov. 19, Charlotte looks to snap a six-game road losing streak. The Bobcats are one of five teams with one or zero road wins this season.
Wallace averaged only 7.3 points in his first 12 games against the Pistons before scoring 29 in a 103-92 loss to Detroit on Jan. 24.
The Pistons have won six of their last eight meetings against the Bobcats. Detroit won its first four home games against Charlotte before that streak ended with a 103-96 loss on Jan. 10.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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