Dr. Dre probably isn’t a sports betting man. According to the good doctor, California is “a state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness.” The Detroit Pistons, however, beg to differ, having gone, so far, 2-2 SU and ATS, in their Golden State road trip, which included beating the Golden State Warriors, and the LA Clippers, which, by process of elimination, leaves, of course, the Lakers. Can the Pistons make it three for three?
https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/925352265170538496
- Date: Tuesday, 31st October
- Time: 10:40 PM
- Venue: Staples Center
- Sportsbook online odds:
Pistons -4 (-110) 208 (-110) -165
Lakers +4 (-110) 208 (-110) +145
The City which had taken the whole world was itself taken
The blue collar Pistons have been largely unimpressed by the glitz of Tinseltown and have laid waste to California like the Visigoths and the Vandals did to Rome in 410 and 455, respectively. “Two games versus two very good teams,” forward Tobias Harris said. “The morale in the locker room is great right now. We’re embracing each other. We’re enjoying it. We’re having fun, and that’s the biggest thing. We’re having fun as a team in here.” Now all that’s left for the Pistons is reenact the third Sack of Rome, by the Ostrogoths in 546. It will be, against the Lakers, revenge in more ways than one. Detroit small forward Stanley Johnson grew up in Southern California as a Lakers fan and worked out with Kobe Bryant before the 2015 NBA Draft but was skipped over by the Lakers at No. 2 and picked eighth overall by the Pistons. Johnson had just one game with 15 or more points last season, but has scored 15 in two of the last three, including against the Warriors. In general, Detroit is 4-12 SU in their last 16 games against the Lakers, but has covered the sports betting spread in six of their last seven.
Dropping the Ball
In a reversal of Johnson’s case, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was drafted eighth overall by the Pistons in 2013 but signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Lakers in July. Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting in his debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 22nd, but has scored a total of 23 points on 8-for-29 shooting in the three ensuing games. Similarly, rookie Lonzo Ball is averaging 10 points, 7.7 assists and 7.5 rebounds but has a shot a ghastly 10-of-41 in the last four games, and is shooting 31.1% from the field this season, scoring in single digits in five of six games. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning record, 4-1 ATS in their last five after a loss, 6-2 ATS in their last eight on two days’ rest, and 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall, while the Pistons are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games and 6-1 ATS in their last six overall, but 3-7 ATS in their last 10 against teams with losing records. The Lakers scored a season-worst 96 points, and the sports betting total unsurprisingly went under, as it did in the two previous Lakers games.