At the onset of the week, the Detroit Pistons were the hottest surprise on the NBA betting board. Last season, Detroit had a breakout campaign that ended with a playoff berth. Now the Pistons are confirming that success was not an accident.
Equally important is the emergence of the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors have taken the lead in the Atlantic Division over the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat look like a team back as a contender after taking the Southeast Division lead. So, too, are the Atlanta Hawks showing improvement after falling back last year. Finally, the San Antonio Spurs have emerged as a top-tier contender in the Western Conference.
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Pistons Firing on All Cylinders
The Detroit Pistons are an impressive 16-4 straight up, 13-7 against the spread, and 11-9 over the sports betting total. As a result, Detroit leads the Eastern Conference by two games over the Toronto Raptors. Detroit has the hot hand with five payouts in its last six games.
Most important of all, the Pistons are showing the balance of a full court team that is built to last. Detroit ranks 7th in the NBA for scoring offense and 7th for the fewest points allowed. Detroit ranks 3rd in the NBA for offensive rebounding and 9th for defensive rebounding.
The head coach of the Pistons is JB Bickerstaff, who earned a reputation as a turnaround artist during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Correlate that Bickerstaff is working his magic with a Pistons team that is fun to watch.
Gamblers love the NBA betting value that Detroit is providing. The casual sector is not yet sold on the Pistons. Thus Wise Guys and sharps are gravitating to Detroit’s exceptional betting value and more favorable prices.
First among Detroit scorers is Cade Cunningham with 28.8 points, 6.4 assists, and 9.4 rebounds per contest. Cunningham was the first overall pick of the Pistons out of Oklahoma State. He cracked through be to make the NBA All-Star team last year. In 2024-25, Cunningham scored 26.1 points and 9.1 assists per game.
Additionally, center Jalen Duren has been a valuable contributor. Duren is averaging 19.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Duren was taken as the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets but has played his entire career in Detroit.
Toronto Raptors Rising
At the beginning of the week, the Toronto Raptors are 14-6 straight up, 11-9 against the spread, and 8-12 under the total. Toronto leads the New York Knicks by one game in the Atlantic Division and is two games behind the Pistons for the Eastern Conference lead. Despite their straight up success, Toronto is on a cooler at the betting window. The Raptors covered only one of their last four games. Toronto went under the total in four of its previous five games.
Toronto’s strength is its defense, ranked 4th in the NBA for fewest points allowed and 1st in defending 3-point shots. On the other hand, the Raptors rank 13th in the Association for scoring offense. But the Raptors have good secondary scoring and balance.
Brandon Ingram leads Toronto. To show, Ingram is averaging 21.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per contest. Ingram is in his first season with Toronto, arriving from the New Orleans Pelicans. Initially, Ingram was the 2nd overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers out of Duke.
Second in scoring for Toronto is Scottie Barnes. Barnes is averaging 20.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. Barnes was the 4th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft out of Florida State by Toronto and was a 2024 NBA All-Star.
Meanwhile, RJ Barrett is averaging 19.4 points per game. In like manner to Ingram, Barrett is a Duke alum. He was taken as the 3rd overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Since 2023, he has played for the Raptors.
Since 2023-24, Darko Rajakovic has been the head coach of the Raptors. Toronto has given him a fair amount of time to build a roster he can succeed with.