At 7-3 and third in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have had a fair start to the season. However, five of their seven wins have come against teams below .500 and they are just 2-3 against teams that made the playoffs last year. Detroit hosted the Wizards on Monday and won 122-111, even with Anthony Davis going for 44 points. Washington turned it over 18 times and was outscored 19-4 on the fast break. The Pistons have won four of the last five meetings.
The 4-8 Wizards lost their fifth straight game, 114-101 in Indiana on Wednesday. Thursday will be their second night of a back-to-back and Washington's fifth game in seven days. AD played 34 minutes against Detroit on Monday and another 34 last night. The Pistons have not played since Monday's matchup. As underdogs of 9.5 points or more, the Wizards are 0-4 ATS and SU. The Pistons are 4-1 on the road, allowing just 100 points a night. All four of those wins have come by 13+. Detroit laid 9.5 at home on Monday and covered, and now faces a Washington team desperately searching for wins. I like the Pistons to cover again.
Pistons vs Wizards prediction: Detroit -9.5 (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
