The Detroit Pistons are sort of like the Marco Rubio of the NBA. Just like Rubio, the Pistons have been able to hang around with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But just as Rubio ultimately couldn't win any states in the Republican primaries and was constantly second best to Donald Trump, the Pistons haven't ultimately won anything against Cleveland. And now, just as Rubio had to take his name out of consideration for the POTUS, Detroit will have to bow out of the NBA playoffs if it can't win for the first time in Game 4 of this first round series on Sunday night.
NBA Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Cleveland Cavaliers -6.5
Detroit Pistons +6.5
Over/Under 197.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cavs were only favored by five on Friday night in Game 3, but they were incredibly public. We suspect they're going to be awfully public again in Game 4 at a spread of -6.5.
The total has come down three points from Game 3 from 200.5 to 197.5, and we wouldn't be surprised if that figure comes down as time wears on.
SERIES RECAP
We consistently talk about the play of of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love. Irving and James have reached 20+ points in all three games of this series, and Love was only four points short in Game 2 of doing the exact same thing.
Cleveland has still never lost a game when all three of these men score 20+ points, going 11-0.
The real key is the play of these men at the ends of games. In each duel of this series, the Cavaliers have gone on a pretty good shooting spurt, and in each spurt, it's been one or more of these three which have taken over.
INJURIES
Reggie Bullock hasn't played often in this series, but he did play a few crucial minutes off the bench in Games 1 and 2. He's got a leg injury which cost him Game 3, and though that wasn't the difference-maker in the 10-point loss, it did narrow Stan Van Gundy's bench down to just four guys.
Mo Williams has yet to play in this series for the Cavaliers thanks to a knee problem, but clearly, they haven't missed him.
LIVE BETTING
Fatigue could become an issue here for the Pistons. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris are all averaging over 36 minutes per game in this series, and Andre Drummond has taken a ridiculous beating in the paint in spite of the fact that he hasn't played quite as many minutes due to foul problems.
Cleveland is +4, +3 and +7 in the three games in this series in the fourth quarter, something that live bettors should certainly keep in mind.
QUICK PICK
The Cavaliers are going to finish off this series on Sunday, but we can't miss the fact that Detroit is going to be extremely sharp. SVG has really gotten his boys to play hard in this series even though they're completely overmatched by one of the best teams in the NBA.
Whereas other teams tend to fall flat on their faces after falling behind 3-0, we do think the Pistons will again knock down some outside shots and keep this one relatively close.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 98, Pistons 93
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Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons will come off the board at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Catch the action in Game 4 of this best-of-seven series live nationally on TNT.
