Detroit beat Cleveland in overtime on Wednesday as both teams rested their starters. Surprisingly, the Pistons, have won and covered three of the four meetings this season. However, this is the first year since 2009 that the Pistons have made the postseason, so the Cavaliers obviously have a huge advantage not only in talent, but in experience. The Cavaliers lost three of their last four games, but that was after they had their playoff position locked up. LeBron James averaged 25.3 points this season and Kyrie Irving added 19.6 points per game. Reggie Jackson, the Pistons' leading scorer with 18.8 points per game, is probable for this game due to an abdominal strain. Andre Drummond averages 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds, but has a woeful .355 free throw percentage, which could factor into the final pointspread. Cleveland has gone UNDER the total its last five games with at least three days rest. Detroit is 4-0 UNDER in the same situation, and the starters for these teams haven't played since Monday or Tuesday. Play the Cavaliers and the first half UNDER.
This pick was released to clients on April 15, 2016 at 2:02AM ET.
NBA
Detroit at Cleveland
April 17, 2016
3:05 PM Eastern
1.5 units on Cleveland -10.5 (-107) (risk 1.5 to return 2.9)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
1.5 units on 1st ½ Total UNDER 101.5 -115 (risk 1.5 to return 2.8)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
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