Tonight, 76ers will seek revenge for losing their previous fixture against Detroit, at the start of February (113:96).
Philadelphia 76ers are going into this match after finally breaking their 3 game losing streak with a narrow win over New York Knicks (105:102). Prior to that, they failed to do the same against Miami Heat (125:96), GSW (108:119) and away game against Knicks (110:109). Looking at the recent match against Knicks, 76ers finished 1st quarter 6 points behind (29:35), but managed to get back up before the end of 1st half, with a great 2nd quarter (34:18), which resulted in 76ers 10 point lead (63:53). 3rd quarter was again in visiting team favour (16:28), mostly due to too many turnovers on 76ers side (7). 76ers were trailing by only 2 points before heading into last 12 minutes of play, but with an excellent performance from their defensive line, keeping Knicks at 27.3 FG% they managed to outscore the visitors by 5 points. All in all, neither of the teams shot well; Knick had a poor 39.3FG%, on the other side 76ers performed better in that aspect, with 43.9FG%. Top scorers of the match: Thomas (21pts), Saric (21pt) and Rose (20pts). It’s clear that 76ers perform better in home games, compared to away games, and same can be said for today’s visiting team.
Detroit Pistons are currently sitting at 8th position in the East and are currently on a 3-2 run in the past 5 games, 2 of the wins coming from overtime. Looking at Detroit’s away games, they perform terribly, as they only managed to win 2 out of last 10 played. Last match against New Orleans Pelicans was a disappointment in my eyes. I did expect Detroit to be beaten, but not by 23 points. This might not be the case, if they had performed better in the last 12 minutes, but it is what it is now. Match started with a 13 point lead by Pelicans (31:18), which was almost lost with a good performance by Detroit in 2nd quarter (22:32), keeping Pelicans at 35FG%, whereas having 48.4% shot accuracy themselves. Going into 2nd half, Detroit had to step up their game, but they failed to do so. Pelicans extended their lead by additional 5 points by the end of 3rd quarter (25:20). Pelicans had a 8 point lead prior to 4th quarter, but they did not stop there. With an excellent performance, shutting down Pistons offence (38.1FG%), not even letting them shoot from 3pt line, Pelicans extended their lead by additional 15 points, which put a nail in the coffin of Detroit. Shooting accuracy wise, Pelicans outshined Pistons with 50%FG compared of 38.8%FG of Pistons. Top scorers of the match: Davis (33pts), Leuer (22pts), Holiday (22pts).
Verdict & Prediction
It’s obvious Pistons do not perform well in away games, whereas 76ers do. They only factor that might work in Pistons favour is that 76ers might be fatigued from their recent match, but keep in mind, they will not have Udrih to play for them as he suffered an injury. This might be a close call, but giving 76ers 6 points should be enough for this bet to come out as a winner.
Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers +6
Odds: 1.86 Pinnacle
