The Detroit Pistons will have their chance to beat the Central’s best team when they square off against the division rival Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Apr. 13 and will air on FSN-DET and FSN-OH.
The Cavaliers were beaten by the Celtics 99-90 on Friday. Kevin Love finished with 19 points to lead the team. The Pistons, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-103 loss to the Pacers on Friday. Greg Monroe scored 17 points and recorded 12 rebounds earning his 35th double-double of the season.
The Cavaliers have won two out of three against the Pistons this season, including a 102-93 victory in their last matchup. Love was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Cavaliers enter the game with records of 51-28 Straight Up (SU) and 39-40 Against The Spread (ATS). Even though they haven’t performed all that well within their division (5-10 ATS), they’ve managed a SU record of 10-5. The Cleveland defense overall is very good at home, only giving up 95.7 points per game.
Across the court, Detroit has a SU record of 30-49 and an ATS record of 40-39. Most recently, Detroit is 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games. The Pistons are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 44.9 rebounds per game.
Cleveland won the last meeting this season between these two teams, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. The Pistons hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Detroit held the edge in all three of these categories three times in the last 10 meetings. Cleveland did so once.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, ATS Winner – CLE
Notes
Cleveland puts up an average of 103.2 points per game (ranked seventh). Detroit ranks 15th in points allowed per game with 99.8.
Cleveland ranks ninth in points per home game with 103.0 points, while Detroit ranks sixth in points allowed on the road with 98.0.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 38-7 on the season. When the Pistons score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 9-34.
Cleveland is an underachieving 13-21 when it allows 100 or more points. Detroit has a 21-15 record when it reaches the century mark.
The Pistons have a defensive rating of 103.9 (ranked 20th). The Cavaliers rank third for their offensive rating of 108.3.
Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game than Detroit, with 95.3 compared to 96.1. However, the Cavaliers score an average of 1.083 points per possession, more than the 1.022 that the Pistons score.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking fourth in the league with an EFF% of 51.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Detroit Pistons have an abysmal 6-25 record.
Cleveland makes an average of 22.0 assists per game (ranked 11th), while Detroit makes 21.5 assists per game (ranked 17th).
Cleveland makes an average of 4.1 blocks per game (ranked 26th). Detroit ranks higher in blocks with 4.7 (ranked 13th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 13th in offensive rebounding, while the Detroit Pistons rank 18th in defensive rebounding.
The Cleveland Cavaliers average 7.5 steals per game. When giving up 7 or more steals, the Detroit Pistons have a poor record (15-30) this season.
