Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets Point Spread Picks

The Houston Rockets will host the Detroit Pistons as the NBA gets into full swing. Both these teams lost their openers in close games and will be hungry for a win. There have been a lot of close games, as 9 of the 16 games played have been decided by 6 points or fewer. Houston took a harsh blow before the regular season got started, as Fred VanVleet will be out for the season with a torn ACL. The Pistons did a good job as a road dog last season, covering 56% of their games. This game looks a lot closer than the line, and I'll make the play on Detroit.

The Houston Rockets have become elite and hold the No. 2 seed in the NBA Western Conference playoffs. They will host another team on the rise, the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons won just 14 games last season, and here they are at the midway point of the season at 21-21. The Pistons own wins vs Minnesota, the Lakers, Orlando, and the Knicks twice. This is a highly competitive team that can catch any team off-guard. The Pistons have five double-digit scorers and are hard to defend, as they can score from anywhere. Dogs of 3.5 to 9.5 that scored 120 or more points last game and facing an opponent that scored 120 or more in their previous two games are 70-31 ATS. I like Detroit in this one.

Detroit is showing some competitiveness with new coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Pistons have won four of six, which would have been the highlight of last season. The Pistons come off a 122-121 thrilling victory over Atlanta on Friday night when Cade Cunningham hit the decisive shot with 8.5 seconds left while totaling 22 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Detroit's previous home game was a 115-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston lost 126-107 at Oklahoma City as the Thunder shot 51 percent and led 75-51 at the half. The Rockets are 4-10 ATS the past 14 meetings. Four of their past five road games overall have gone UNDER and nine of Detroit's past 12 games have stayed UNDER. The Pistons are 5-0 ATS their past five as underdogs of 0.5-4.5 points and 7-0 UNDER on Sundays. Take the Pistons and the UNDER.

Houston is outscoring opponents by +2.1, the sixth-best differential in the Western Conference. The vast improvement has come on the defensive end, second in the NBA in points given up (110.6 per game), third in field goal shooting allowed (45.2%), and No. 1 at defending the 3-pointer (33.4%). The Rockets are 9-0 ATS after having lost three of four. The Pistons are on a mind-numbing 1-34 SU, 11-23-1 ATS run. They're without leading scorer Cade Cunningham (knee) and just got blown out at home by San Antonio, 130-108, the second-worst team in the NBA. Detroit is 26th in points given up (123 per game), 26th in field goal shooting allowed (49.6%), and 24th at defending beyond the arc (38.4%). They're getting outscored by minus 11.7 points per contest, the worst differential in the league. Detroit is on a 22-34 spread run at home, plus 3-12 ATS in non-conference action. Play Houston.