The Milwaukee Bucks will be at The Palace of Auburn Hills to take on a divisional foe in the Detroit Pistons. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 4 and will air on FxD, FWi, C+ and C+D.
The Pistons were victorious over the Suns 127-122 on Wednesday. With 34 points and 16 assists, Reggie Jackson recorded his second double-double this season. The Bucks, meanwhile, are coming off a demoralizing 95-70 loss at the hands of the Spurs on Wednesday. Khris Middleton had a team-high 16 points.
Over the last five games, Jackson has really been playing well for the Pistons. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers.
Detroit could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as they rank second in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 29.0%. Conversely, the Bucks are 30th in the league on the defensive backboards with a defensive rebound percentage of 70.3%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bucks won the first game 109-88. Greg Monroe played a big role with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
The Pistons are a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 192 points. The Pistons are attempting to build on their records of 10-9 Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 4-4 both SU and ATS versus the Eastern Conference. The Pistons have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the third-ranked rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 47.3 per game, while the Bucks rank 30th in the league with 38.8 per game. Milwaukee has a habit of getting in foul trouble (23.8 fouls per game), so expect the Pistons to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
Across the court, Milwaukee has a SU record of 7-12 and an ATS record of 8-11. Milwaukee has records of 6-9 SU and ATS against the East. A large part of Milwaukee’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 19.9 points per game off turnovers, which ranks third in the league.
Milwaukee won the last meeting this season between these two teams, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. However, with a 7-3 record, the Bucks have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Det, ATS Winner – Mil, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Detroit’s last 18 games.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Detroit’s last 18 games at home.
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Detroit is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Milwaukee.
Detroit is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit’s last 9 games when playing Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit’s last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Detroit is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Detroit is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
As Detroit and Milwaukee square off, they both hold split records of 2-2 SU against Central Division teams.
On average, Milwaukee scores 95.3 points per game (ranked 29th), while Detroit allows 98.0 points per game (ranked ninth).
Milwaukee scores an average of 90.5 points per away game (ranked 30th), while Detroit gives up 97.4 points per home game (ranked ninth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Detroit Pistons are a solid 7-4. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Milwaukee Bucks have a subpar record of 4-8.
Detroit is a losing 3-5 when it allows 100 or more points. Milwaukee has a 3-4 record when it reaches the century mark.
The Bucks have a defensive rating of 107.5 (ranked 29th). The Pistons rank 24th for their offensive rating of 99.6.
Detroit averages 98.6 possessions per game, scoring .996 points on each possession. While Milwaukee averages fewer possessions per game with 95.1, the team scores more points per possession with 1.002.
The Detroit Pistons average an effective field goal percentage of 46.6% this season. The Milwaukee Bucks have an abysmal record of 2-11 when opponents have an EFF% of 46.6% or greater.
Detroit makes an average of 18.0 assists per game (ranked 28th). Milwaukee ranks higher in assists with 23.0 (ranked seventh).
Detroit makes an average of 3.2 blocks per game (ranked 30th). Milwaukee ranks higher in blocks with 4.9 (ranked 15th).
The Detroit Pistons are the top offensive rebounding team in the league, while the Milwaukee Bucks are the NBA’s worst defensive rebounding team.
On average, Detroit makes 8.2 steals per game. Milwaukee is an underachieving 1-9 when it gives up at least 8 steals.
