Indiana Pacers vs Detroit Pistons Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 01/17/26

Not a lot of people saw a run of 4 wins in 5 games coming from the Indiana Pacers, but here we are. Their most recent triumph came against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, which means they have no rest ahead of Saturday’s game against the top team in the Conference the Detroit Pistons. As a result we get a +12.5 spread on the Pacers here, which could entice some people given their recent run and the fact that the Pistons could be without their best player here. We should also note that Indiana has covered in 8 of 10 meetings and has actually beaten the Pistons 7 times in the last 10 games, however most of those wins came when they were at full strength.

The Pistons also come into this one having won 4 of 5 games, but unlike the Pacers they do it on the defensive end holding teams to under 100 points in 3 of their last 4 wins. There’s a stark contrast in the styles of play these two teams display on a nightly basis, I’m curious to see which one prevails, especially if the Pistons are without Cade once again. The first 2 meetings went Detroit’s way, in both of them they scored 120+ points, but interestingly enough they are just 1-4 ATS in 5 home games against Indiana.

All of a sudden the Pacers look really good, but they’ve not had the best of times in games without rest this season, losing 4 of 6. Their last 3 losses in this scenario were by 26, 17 and 31 points. I’m going with the more consistent Pistons here.

Pacers vs Pistons prediction: Detroit -12.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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