Detroit at New York

The Pistons have decided to slow the pace down so they don't get run out of the building by deeper teams. The Pistons are 25th in the NBA in scoring and on a 6-1 run UNDER the total. It worked the last game, stealing a win over the Raptors 91-90 as they allowed 43 first half points and 41% shooting for the game. Meanwhile, first place New York knows something about play defense, too, with the UNDER 6-0 in the Knicks last six home games. They are 11th in the NBA in points allowed and playing good defense behind shot blocking center Tyson Chandler.  The UNDER is 14-3 in the Knicks last 17 home games against a team with a road winning percentage of less than .400 and 23-5-1 UNDER the total in their last 29 games vs. a team with a winning percentage below .400. And when these teams meet it's been mostly defense: The UNDER is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings.   In addition, the Pistons are the play. Detroit's slow approach and defense actually keeps them in games even against good teams, with the Pistons 4-1 ATS against a team with a winning percentage above .600.  The Knicks are 1-4 ATS in their last five after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. And the Knicks are becoming overvalued as a public team, losing the last two games at Dallas (114-111) and at Houston (131-103) looking out of gas on their road trip. Teams are often out of synch that first game back from a road trip, which is the case in this game, and the Knicks are 1-4 ATS allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Play the UNDER and the Pistons in this one.