Game: Detroit Pistons @ Golden State Warriors
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Odds: Pistons +15, Warriors -15
Total: 216.5
Golden State (31-12) is suffering through its worst stretch of the 2021-22 NBA season. The Warriors lost to Minnesota on Sunday night giving Golden State its third loss in its last five games. Even more concerning is that the Warriors lost those three games by an average of 15.7 points. The issue for head coach Steve Kerr is simply injuries. The Warriors have been playing without Draymond Green and perennial All-Star Stephen Curry.
Green, who has a calf injury, is out indefinitely and will not play again tonight. Curry, who was sidelined with a hand injury, has been upgraded to probable for tonight. He will likely be a game-time decision as will teammates Gary Payton Jr. and Moses Moody.
With Green and Curry out of the lineup, some of the Warriors bench has been able to see significant action and that will help tonight. Rookie Jonathan Kuminga is averaging 22 points and five rebounds in his last two games.
The Warriors opponent tonight, Detroit, is one of the worst teams in the NBA this season but is actually going through one of its best stretches of the season. The Pistons have won three of their last five games and they have won those games by an average of 11.7 points. They did lose on Sunday night, but the loss was to the Phoenix Suns, the team with the best record in the NBA. Tonight’s game starts a four-game road trip for the Pistons.
Detroit struggles on the offensive end. They are dead last in the NBA in offensive efficiency. The Pistons lack an identity. Leading scorer Jerami Grant (20.1 ppg) is out indefinitely leaving Detroit without a go-to scorer. Six different players have led the Pistons in scoring in each of their last six games. Rookie Cade Cunningham is averaging nearly 18 points and five assists a game over his last five, but he is still learning. The Pistons’ first pick in the 2021 draft has only led Detroit in scoring in four of 42 games thus far this season.
While the Pistons are 3-2 in their last five games, remember that they are just 10-32 on the season. Golden State has struggled against the number recently going just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games. They are 24-17-2 ATS on the season and 14-6-1 ATS at home.
When these two teams played the first time this season, the total was 201.5 which was a reflection of how bad the Pistons are on offense and how good Golden State is defensively. It was a relatively lower scoring game, but the teams combined to shoot 51 free throws and hit a combined 80 percent. The final was 105-102 pushing it Over.
Detroit is the worst offensive team in the league and they have shown it in their last three games. The Pistons have averaged just 99.3 points in that span. The Warriors hold opponents to 102 points per game.