The Detroit Pistons will travel to AmericanAirlines Arena to square off against the Miami Heat. The game gets underway at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 29 and will air on FSN-DET and Sun Sports.
The Heat lost to the Hawks 99-86 on Friday. Mario Chalmers played well for the Heat, contributing 13 points, five assists, and two steals. The Pistons, meanwhile, are coming off a 111-97 win over the Magic on Friday. They relied on Reggie Jackson who recorded his second triple-double of the season. He took his game to the next level with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Over the last five games, Andre Drummond and Jackson have been on a tear for the Pistons. During that stretch, Drummond has averaged 15.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.8 blocks. Not to be outdone, Jackson has put up 20.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.0 three-pointer.
Keep an eye on Miami’s ability to get to the charity stripe. They rank second in the league in free throw attempt rate (31.0), but Detroit is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking fifth by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 24.4).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Pistons won the first game 108-91. D.J. Augustin played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 25 points and 13 assists.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Heat are looking to improve on their records of 33-39 Straight Up (SU) and 33-36-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 21-22 SU and 21-20-2 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. The Miami defense has been very good, only giving up 96.7 points per game.
Across the court, Detroit has a SU record of 28-44 and an ATS record of 36-36. Detroit has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. The Pistons are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 45.3 rebounds per game.
Following the Pistons’ latest win over Miami, Detroit is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 3-7 SU. At 5-5, they are even bets ATS. Miami has held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) three times over the last 10, while Detroit accomplished this twice.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, ATS Winner – DET
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami’s last 5 games.
Miami is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home.
Miami is 17-4 SU in its last 21 games when playing Detroit.
Miami is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Detroit.
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Miami’s last 18 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Miami is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Miami is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Miami ranks 28th in points per game with 94.5, while Detroit ranks 15th in points allowed with an average of 99.6 given up.
On average, Miami scores 96.9 points per home game (ranked 26th), while Detroit gives up 97.9 points per away game (ranked sixth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Miami Heat are a winning 29-15. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Detroit Pistons have a subpar record of 8-32.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Heat are just 4-24 this season. Detroit is a solid 20-12 when it reaches the century mark.
The Pistons have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 19th). The Heat rank 18th for their offensive rating of 101.3.
Detroit beats Miami in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Pistons average 96.4 possessions and 1.020 points per possession, while the Heat average 93.3 possessions with 1.013 points per possession.
The Miami Heat average an effective field goal percentage of 50.2% this season. The Detroit Pistons have a poor record of 10-28 when opponents have an EFF% of 50.2% or greater.
On average, the Detroit Pistons make 21.3 assists per game and the Miami Heat make 20.1. Detroit is ranked 18th, while Miami is ranked 28th.
The Miami Heat average 4.4 blocks per game for a rank of 22nd. The Detroit Pistons rank higher (16th), earning 4.6 blocks each contest.
Miami is ranked 29th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Detroit ranks 15th in defensive rebounds.
The Miami Heat average 8.2 steals per game (ranked 10th). The Detroit Pistons have a losing record of 11-23 when they allow at least 8 steals.
