Detroit Pistons vs Miami Heat: Pistons have not won since mid-November

COVID-19 keeps one in anxiety and the sporting world has been hit in the full flow. For the players, long travels and few rests mean that the body is already taking the toll from practises and games so COVID-19 just worsens the situation. However, the Miami Heat who will play here have faced more troubles from injuries than COVID-19. They’d play the Detroit Pistons here who have not won in more than a month now! Can Detroit finally make sure they at least get a win? Peek at the “Notes” for a quick look. Head over to “Expert Betting Tips” for the Total prediction and game result prediction.

Recent forms: Heat has won five games and lost four games without Butler and Adebayo in the mix which means they have not let it derail the campaign. In fact, Miami has won four of the last five games and different players have picked up the mantle to help the cause. The Heat has shown its depth without Butler and Adebayo. On the other hand, the Pistons have divorced from wins altogether. The team has not won for fourteen games straight and if they lose one more, their 15 game losing streak will be the lengthiest. Pistons are a youthful team, lacking experience and depth in multiple departments but losing this much can hurt the morale of youngsters.

Offensive comparisons: Miami has scored 113 or more in three of the last five games. With Lowry as the playmaker, the offensive set-up is sustainable and the bench for the team looks deeper than though earlier. Interestingly six different players have top-scored in the last six games. Pistons have mostly scored in the 93-107 points range with a few games with 110+ points. With Jerami Grant out, Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey have raised their games but the team falls so far back that making a comeback becomes almost impossible. Detroit’s offense has still been decent, the defense on the other hand…

Defensive comparisons: Pistons are among the worst defensive teams in the league and have given up points in the 114-122 range thus for a team that struggles to reach 110 or so regularly, giving up that many points is only going to result in big margin losses. Detroit’s youth needs a lot of work on the defensive end. On the other hand, the Miami Heat has been much better on the defensive end, thanks to pesky players like Lowry, Robinson, Tucker, and Dedmon. Heat has not allowed more than 105 points in the last six games, limiting teams to a 92-105 range which is applause worthy since they are missing two of their best players. Heat have shown depth on both ends of the floor.

Here are some quick-hitter related to the game.

• Pistons have scored 107, 113, 104, 93, 116(OT) in the last five games;
• Pistons have allowed 116, 122, 116, 109, 119(OT) in the last five games;
• Heat has scored 115, 101, 94, 118, 113 in the last five games;
• Heat has allowed 105, 96, 105, 92, 104 in the last five games;
• Heat has lodged ten wins and eight losses at home;
• Pistons have lost 14 games in a row;
• Saddiq Bey has scored 23 or more in two games in a row;
• Cade Cunningham has usually dished 5 or more assists a game;
• Isaiah Stewart usually grabs rebounds in the 8-10 range;
• PJ Tucker has scored 15 or more in three of the last five games Kyle Lowry has dished 13 or more assists in three of the last five games;
• Jimmy Butler has not played for around two weeks now. He is not likely to play here either;
• Jerami Grant is out long-term. He was Pistons’ leading scorer;
• Look at the injury report before placing stakes

Points Range: Against Pistons, you always get a chance to score 110 or more points on a regular basis, whether they play at home or Away. The current Heat setup has shown the ability to breach that mark. Still, it doesn’t mean these are like the Hornets games where you see both teams scoring a lot, in this case, the Pistons offense hasn’t been at premium during most games and without Jerami Grant it will be tough against the highly rated defensive unit of Miami Heat. I think the Points Range here can be 209-219, mostly due to the Pistons lack of scoring.

Prediction: How can you pick a team that has lost way too much! It is just too much of a gamble to bet on a unit to pull through which has not won in a month now. Even the second-string Heat squad looks stronger than the Pistons and with Lowry, Robinson, Tucker, Dedmon, Vincent, Strus, Herro, and co. it will not be a surprise if Heat takes the game. I choose a 112:97 scoreline in favour of the Heat. 

• Total Over 203.5 for 2.00;
• Alternate Point Spread: Miami Heat -6.5 for 2.00;
• Player Props: Player Points: Kyle Lowry Over 16.5 for 1.90.