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The struggling San Antonio Spurs will host the rejuvenated Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in the NBA.
The Spurs (33-29, 22-7 home) are coming after their worst stretch of the season, losing 7 of their last 8 games – all of them on the road, part of the traditional Rodeo Drive for the Spurs. It was the worst Rodeo Drive in history for the Spurs, and as a result they have now fallen to the 8th seed in the West, being in danger to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
The Pistons (29-30, 11-17 away) are kind of in an opposite situation to the Spurs. It has mostly been a pretty ugly season for Detroit, but they have recently started to turn it around, winning 7 of the last 8 games and climbing back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Pistons won 3 games in a row and will surely feel good about themselves coming into this match.
Bet on Spurs vs Pistons and get your 100% (120 Eur) welcome bonus at LSbet now!San Antonio will only miss Dejounte Murray (who hasn`t played at all this season), while the Pistons are fully healthy.
Looking at the current form for these two sides, Detroit might look the team on the up, with a good chance to win this match. However, there`s another way to look at it – the recent results have determined the bookies to put up very high odds for the Spurs. At no point during this season would San Antonio have odds above 1.50 to beat Detroit at home.
While the Spurs have indeed looked bad recently, it must be taken into account that it was a grueling road trip, and you would expect San Antonio to look different at home. After all, they have one of the best home records in the NBA at 22-7. They have the 4th best winning percentage at home in the entire NBA (which is amazing if you consider they only have the 13th best record overall).
On the same note, the Pistons` winning streak has been helped by the fact that they had an easy schedule – only 2 of their 7 wins during this stretch coming against playoff caliber teams. And, like the Spurs, the Pistons are a home team. On the road they have been dreadful all season, amassing an 11-17 record.
San Antonio is definitely expected to look different and much better on their return at home. They already showed improvement in the last game, even if they lost by 16 to Brooklyn. This statement might seem strange, but they lost that one because they missed a ton of open shots (16% from three), shots which would normally fall, but their defense and intensity were solid.
Detroit is not that good or impressive despite the winning streak, and with the Spurs back at home, they should have enough to win this. At other points during this season odds would probably around 1.30 – 1.40 for San Antonio, so I`m very happy to bet on them at almost 1.60. The point spread looks accessible also at 4 points, but I`m choosing to avoid the handicap and go with maximum safety.
My tip is San Antonio to win. Prediction: San Antonio Spurs – Detroit Pistons 112 – 102.
Pick: Spurs
Odds: 1.59 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.72
Event date: 28 February
