Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 16th, 2022 

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Celtics -12.5; O/U 216.5

BetMGM:  Spread:  Celtics -12.5; O/U 215.5

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Celtics -12.5; O/U 216

WynnBet: Spread:  NL

Pistons: 12-45, 15th place Eastern Conference

Celtics: 33-25, 6th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference matchup that features the league’s worst team.  This game will not be appointment viewing.  At best an odd player here or there will have a great dunk or deep shot… and ESPN will grudgingly include a Pistons clip in the top-10. Otherwise we all know what will happen.  The game will start at on a 12-2 Celtics run that brings a quick Pistons timeout.  The teams will then trade baskets for awhile… before the Pistons collapse and the Celtics run away with it.  Am I wrong?  Do you see a different way this game could go?... based on what?... Numbers, all-stars, maybe you have a firm belief that Cade Cunningham is ready to breakout for a final try to pry the ROY award away from Evan Mobley or Scottie Barnes?  It’s all silly.  The Pistons have nothing in the way of an NBA team to put on the floor.  The Pistons have a collection of disparate parts:  a rookie with a lot of potential, a forward with impressive athleticism, some injured players and 12 guys who live in a constant state of “does he even belong in the league?”.  By comparison the Boston Celtics a real team on a current deep winning streak.  The Boston Celtics have risen in the standings after a slow start.  This isn’t a real matchup where we try to decide who the winner will be… Obviously the Boston Celtics will win.  This is a matchup where bettors try to decide which way the point spread will break and whether this is a great betting opportunity.  Let’s look at the numbers… and then let’s make some $$.

The Detroit Pistons have won 1 of their last 10 games.  They are also only 2-8 ATS over their last ten games.  They lost ATS to the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 12.5 point spread, they lost to the Dallas Mavericks with a 10.5 point spread, they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies with an 11.5 points spread.  The last win against the point spread that they had was against THESE Boston Celtics on February 4th .  It was a Detroit loss with the final score being Boston 102 - Detroit 93… the spread was 11.  They got the final score within 9 points.  Remember that as it may affect this game’s point spread in your favor.  The leading scorer for Detroit is Jeremi Grant at 18.8 ppg… the Pistons offered Jerami Grant to every team who would pick up the phone as the trade deadline approached and were unable to get what they wanted… which was a top-14 draft pick in the coming lottery, or multipole future 1st rounders from a later picking team…. plus whatever garbage would balance the salary.  Yes, that is really all they wanted.  The team was looking to balance the timeline with PG Cade Cunningham.  They want Cunninghame to take over the team and surround him with 1st rounders… a formula that has never worked in the NBA.  Not to downplay Cade Cunningham, Cade was the #1 pick in the last draft and he is pretty great.  He leads the team in Assists and steals and has the athleticism and size to get better with experience.  The reason building around Cade with more 1st rounders is terrible is that sometimes first rounders don’t pan out… just ask the New York Knicks.  So getting younger for an already young and losing team… is a shortcut to permanent irrelevance.  Young C Isaiah Stewart is really a power forward and good for 8.2 ppg and 8.5 rpg.  Young PG Killian Hayes (Detroit’s 1st round pick, #7 2020) is good for 6.2 ppg and 4.1 apg.  Killian has been completely usurped by the drafting of Cade Cunningham.  Killian and Cade are both big point guards… Only Cade is better… That is why more picks will not help the Pistons.  They already have stunted the growth of the young players they have.  

The Boston Celtics have won 9 of their last 10 games.  They are on a recent run that puts them on par with the Memphis Grizzlies for an amazing rise in the standings.  They have not lost in February… they have not lost since January 28th against the Atlanta Hawks.  They are winners.  Their big challenge now is to keep winning.  The slow start to the season has got to be made up for.  The immediate goal is clear:  Keep winning and rise to top-4 in the East.  The Celtics have a shot to get there in the final ⅓ of the season… and they need it!  The Boston Celtics have two finesse stars in SG Jaylen Brown 24 ppg and SF Jayson Tatum 25.7 ppg.  Those finesse stars need home court advantage to get comfortable in the playoffs.  What we know about the team is they held onto their tandem on the frontline of players C Robert Williams III and PF Al Horford.  Logtime Celtic fans will tell you that they should have moved for a better one or the other.  The trade deadline move the squad did make was giving up Langford and Richardson for SG Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs… it was a good move… they gave up two inconsistent players for one consistent player.  That is always worth it… but in doing so they committed to only shoring up the bench… not the starters.  They may have committed to simply not ever getting their duo of stars to the Finals… especially when you look to Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo or eventually even Deandre Ayton as some of the big men you would have to get passed in order to win a title.  Robert Williams III can not handle any of that… Al Horford is a million years old.  Al Horford remembers why Billy Crystal is famous.

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Detroit is 12-45 on the season, but 26-31 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs, 28 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a league worst and very disappointing, 4-25 on the road.  The Pistons have more road losses on the season than the Phoenix Suns have total losses… by more than double… yuck.

The Celtics are 33-25 on the season, but 29-28-1 ATS.  They have logged 23 Overs, 34 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 13-15 in road games.

The Pistons are 29th in scoring with 102.4 ppg, 28th in rebounds with 42.8 per game, and 29th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are awful shooters as they rank 29th in FG%, 29th in 3PT%, and 15th in FT%.  They are also terrible on defense while allowing 112.6 ppg from opponents. 

Our prediction for Wednesday, February 16th is….  Celtics 118 - Pistons 101

The Celtics will win and roll… everyone does against the Pistons.  The choice for you is when you look at the double-digit spread you have to decide if it is worth the risk.  I think the choice is easy… but betting 10+ point spreads is usually not worth it in the NBA unless you are betting the other way.  According to just the last ten games the Pistons are not worth betting to cover… and according to the entire season… the Pistons are still not marginally close to worth betting to cover.

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Boston is 91-47 ATS against road underdogs the last 5 seasons.

Detroit is 30-48 ATS (-22.8 units) while trying to revenge a same season loss the last 3 seasons.

4 of 6 games have gone UNDER in this series the last 3 seasons.

Boston is 17 Under to 8 Over as a home favorite this season.

Pistons: PG Frank Jackson (back) Out ** PF Jamorko Pickett (back) Out

Celtics: PG Marcus Smart (ill) Quest ** C Robert Williams III (calf) Quest ** PF Daniel Theis (acquired) Prob 

Pistons: PF Jerami Grant, SF Sassiq Bey, C Isaiah Stewart, PG Cade Cunniingham, SG Cory Joseph

Celtics: Sf Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III, SG Jaylen Brown, PG Marcus Smart

Pistons

Points: Jerami Grant 18.8

Assists: Cade Cunningham 5.1

Rebounds: Isaiah Stewart 8.5

Steals: Cade Cunningham 1.3

Blocks: Isaiah Stewart 1.1

Celtics

Points: Jayson Tatum 25.7

Assists: Marcus Smart 5.4

Rebounds: Robert Williams III 9.7

Steals: Marcus Smart 1.9

Blocks: Robert Williams III 2.2

Pistons: Dwayne Casey

Celtics Ime Udoka