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The Detroit Pistons are getting back to their annoying ways, no, not the bullying days of Isiah (no that wasn’t me) Thomas
2008-11-21
The Detroit Pistons are getting back to their annoying ways, no, not the bullying days of Isiah (no that wasn’t me) Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, it’s the team that plays in your face defense when it needs to and takes down teams when they are playing well. Just this past week, Detroit (8-3, 6-5 ATS) handed the Lakers their first loss of the season on their home court 106-95 and last night, the Pistons clipped Cleveland’s eight-game winning streak 96-89, with a 30-21 final stanza.
“It’s early, but it’s exciting,” said newly acquired Allen Iverson said. Tonight they will go after a trifecta of sorts against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics (10-2, 5-7 ATS). If anything, Boston has looked better than last season, as the Big Three, have the confidence of being champions and Rajon Rondo and the bench players are more experienced. The Celtics won and covered against New York on Tuesday, ending a string of four games without a cover and they are 23-11 ATS after failing to cover three of their last four against the spread since 2006.
Since 2008 began, Boston has had their way with Detroit, winning seven of nine, covering the spread six times. This plays into why Sportsbook.com has Boston as seven point favorites with total of 183.5. The C’s are 21-9 ATS when playing only their second game in five days and is 27-10 ATS versus good teams outscoring their opponents by three or points a game over the last two seasons. This is the largest margin Detroit has been an underdog in the last eight years in this series and the Pistons are 21-6 ATS after two or more consecutive Unders, leading one to believe the defensive intensity will be high. Eleven of the last 14 meetings have gone UNDER.
After this Eastern encounter is completed, the scene shifts out West for a Pacific Division battle. The Los Angeles Lakers (8-1, 6-3 ATS) are playing like most experts thought they would with Andrew Bynum paired with Pau Gasol. “Me and Andrew, it’s hard to match up,” Gasol said. “I think we should make a consistent effort to do that every game. You’ve got two guys who can produce. They’re easy looks, 10-footers - high-percentage shots.” For now, Kobe Bryant seems perfectly content with this arrangement, averaging 24.3 points and 19.3 field-goal attempts, his lowest totals in five seasons. The Lakers are off 116-point performance against Chicago and L.A. is 25-9 ATS in road games after scoring 110 points or more over the last three seasons.
The Phoenix Suns record looks fine at 8-4 (6-6 ATS), yet an undercurrent of tension is apparent. Shaquille O’Neal has already been in two altercations, both leading to fines and one dismissal. Steve Nash seems almost bored in running a traditional offense and the bench often has been as helpful as ice for a scorpion bite. The only person shining for the Suns is Amare Stoudemire, who is a big matchup problem for nearly any team away from the basket. Phoenix is only 16-30 ATS after failing to cover the spread in two or more consecutive games.
The Suns are a four-point underdog to Los Angeles, which is the first this has been the case since the playoffs in 2006 (15 games) and a home dog to the Lakers for the first time in five seasons. Phil Jackson’s club is 15-3 ATS vs. division opponents and has seen his team cover six of last seven in the desert.
The first game starts at 8:05 Eastern on TNT.
StatFox Power Line- Celtics by 5, Lakers by 2
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