Hopefully Detroit took notes. The last time the Pistons played a team on its second of a back-to-back, they were humbled. Atlanta stormed into the Palace on Saturday taking a 17-point victory after playing the night before. Now, Detroit tries again, this time against the Thunder, who were in Toronto on Monday night and are just 6-7 SU and ATS in the second of back-to-back games.
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SCHEDULING
The Thunder follow up a visit North of the Border to the East’s No. 2 seed Toronto with contest in Detroit and the second of a back-to-back. The game against the Pistons is the last for OKC against the Eastern Conference and precedes one of two remaining home games in the last seven. It’s a busy week for the Thunder with the Clippers visiting OKC on Thursday ending a stretch of three games in four nights. The road trips seem a bit shorter when winning and the Thunder have been winning, breaking out of their 4-8 post-break slide to become relevant in the title talk once again.
Looking to gain some ground during their nine-game homestand, the Pistons saw their five-game winning streak end with a loss to Atlanta on Saturday night. Still, Detroit has climbed into the eighth spot and holds a two-game lead over Chicago entering play this week. Detroit is also just a half-game behind Indiana for the seventh spot in the crowded East standings. Holding onto the No. 8 or jumping to No. 7 won’t be easy. The homestand ends with Dallas on Friday followed by a three-game road trip.
INJURIES
Oklahoma City enters the week with a clean bill of health after getting reserve forward Kyle Singler back in the rotation on Saturday. Coach Billy Donovan has said he would like to get some rest for his regulars down the stretch and the second of a back-to-back would be the most likely time for that.
The only thing hurting is Detroit’s ego after Saturday’s 112-95 loss to the Hawks. Coach Stan Van Gundy said he will continue with a nine-man rotation moving forward while his starters play more than 30 minutes each per game.
KEY MATCHUP
Not many players in the NBA are worse than DeAndre Jordan at shooting free throws; count Detroit’s Andre Drummond among them. Despite his putrid 36.1 percent accuracy from the stripe, Drummond is the key to the success of the Pistons, averaging 16.7 points and 14.9 boards per game. His play recently is a big reason why the Pistons are going to hand the fourth-year All-Star a max contract this offseason. Drummond dropped 19 with 17 boards against the Hawks on Saturday and was, according to Van Gundy, the only guy playing with the intensity to match Atlanta. The big guy has recorded four straight double-double games with a 30-point night against Orlando last Wednesday. More encouraging is his 50 percent shooting from the stripe over his past three games, which has allowed him to play more minutes in crunch time. Not only is Drummond a threat to score when he’s on the floor, he’s a valuable rim protector and blocked shots follow him.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
After playing the night before in Toronto, there’s a real good chance Thunder coach Billy Donovan rests some of his players in this one. And while the OKC bench has been good lately, it’s hard for them to matchup with a talented Pistons’ starting five. Detroit had its five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday, getting outhustled by a Hawks team that played the night before. Van Gundy wasn’t happy with his team’s performance, especially considering a playoff spot is on the line. You know SVG let his squad know about that and the same mistake won’t be made again when the Thunder visit for the second of a back-to-back.
Detroit 105, Oklahoma City 101
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