NBA: Detroit Pistons VS Boston Celtics Pick and Predictions 02/15/2023

Game: 7:40 PM ET,  Wednesday, February 15th, 2023

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TV:  NBA League Pass

Pistons: 15-43, 15th place Eastern Conference

Celtics: 41-17, 1st place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Celtics -12.5, O/U 226.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Celtics -12, O/U 227

Fanduel: Point Spread: Celtics -12, O/U 227.5

Pistons: PG Killian Hayes, SG Jaden Ivey, SF Bojan Bogdanovic, PF Isaiah Stewart, C Jalen Duren

Celtics: PG Marcus Smart, SG Derrick White (DD), SF Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III

An Eastern Conference battle of the worst versus the best.  David and Goliath…. Except Goliath has a ton of depth and a powerfully sweet group of shooters and defenders.  The impulse to immediately bet the Celtics should be slapped with a “Caution” sign.  The points spread is -12 to -12.5 points in favor of the Celtics.  This is a tough pill to swallow considering that several Celtics have been hurt and will get yanked out of the lineup the moment the win feels in the bag, that is if they play at all with only two days to go before the all-star break. The Detroit Pistons are not worried about winning in the slightest… in fact NOT winning is the only thing their roster is capable of consistently… The Pistons are the worst team in the league because they want the biggest prize since LeBron in the coming NBA Draft Lottery!  They will not want wins and they will keep playing lousy lineups to ensure that outcome… The spread however is a different animal.  The young, average, defensively challenged Pistons are not guaranteed jobs come the quick rebuilding project that will occur if/when the Pistons win the Draft Lottery… so they will be playing hard to show the rest of the league that they belong.  The Celtics also just took the Milwaukee Bucks WITH Giannis to an overtime loss while they were not playing their 3 best players!!  It is a conundrum.  The great betting opportunity here may be to figure the Celtics win but have no reason to care by how much.  Let’s check the numbers.

The Detroit Pistons have won 3 of their last 10 games. They went 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  They have faced lots of very big spreads as the underdog and pulled off a couple gambling wins while not winning the game.  The most recent was their last game where they were +11 to the Toronto Raptors and lost 119-118.  That is a win ATS in any book.  In the loss they got 33 points from PF/SF Bojan Bogdanovic who both shot the ball well and got to the line a lot.  It is surprising that Bojan survived (or got stuck) on the Pistons roster through the trade deadline as several teams wanted him… BUT such is life.  The scoring was well-rounded with Guard Jaden Ivey getting 18 points, SF Isaiah Stewart getting 16 points, and bench guard Alec Burks scoring 21 points in 28 minutes of play. The disappointment was PG Killian Hayes who would not even be on the floor if PG Cade Cunningham was healthy.. Of course the Pistons have no interest in Cade returning to the lineup this season… so don’t hold your breath.

The Boston Celtics have won 6 of their last 10 games and are simply cruising as the best team in the Eastern Conference who could get caught by the Bucks… but fear no one else.  They went 6-4 ATS during that stretch.  They also played THESE Pistons on February 6 and beat them 111-99 (by 12 points?).  They lost their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks 131-125… but it was a win ATS since the Celtics were sitting Tatum, Brown, and Smart!!  And the C’s still took it to overtime while getting 27 points from SG Derrick White and 26 points from Malcolm Brogdon.  The Celtics depth at guard is wildly impressive.  They miss two starting guards and replace them with 2 bench guards that would start on several other NBA teams. Center Blake Griffin had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 24 minutes.  Blake allowed C Robert Williams III to get much needed rest… and the C’s almost got the win.

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The Pistons are 25th in scoring with 112.3 points per game, 21st in rebounds with 42.3 per game.  On defense they are terrible while ranking 29th in the league in defense of scoring, they allow 119.7 points per game.  They are a -7 points per game… and that is why they are the worst team in the league.

The Celtics are 3rd in scoring with 117.7 points per game, 6th in rebounds with 45.1 per game.  On defense they rank 6th while only allowing 111.8 points per game.  Their +6 points per game is why they are the best or tied as the best in the league.

Our prediction for Wednesday, February 15th is…. Celtics 119 - Pistons 109

Bet on the Pistons.  It will be close but when you spot any NBA team 12 points you are begging to lose your money… especially if key Celtics will sit out… AND the quality Celtics playing in the game will get pulled at the site of any 10 point lead.

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Detroit is 3-1 ATS versus Boston in Boston the last 3 seasons.

Detroit is 7-3 ATS versus Boston overall the last 3 seasons.

Boston is 13-4 ATS when playing 6 or more games in 10 days this season.

Pistons:  SG Jaden Ivey.  Is Jaden any good?... Seriously.  They guy is undersized for the NBA especially with how many teams have quality BIG guards taking over the league… He scores but that comes with tons of minutes.  The reason his stats are suspect is that his backup is Alec Burks who tends to score as well.  Jaden could be just a good scorer with very few options on his own roster… It’s stats because of playing time and green light. The one thing we do know for sure… Jaden’s stats cause ZERO wins.

Celtics:  PG/SG Malcolm Brogdon.  Malcolm is a bench player on the best team in the league.  He would start in Detroit easily.  Malcolm will need to contribute (as he has been) to remind NBA GM’s that he is capable of being reinserted somewhere as a starter.  

Pistons: Dwayne “when do I get fired?” Casey

Celtics: Joe “this NBA stuff is easy.. I've been doing it 4-5 months now” Mazzula