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The Washington Wizards are safely in the playoffs, but much is still to be determined in the season’s final games. It would be nice to avoid the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two rounds, and securing the No. 3 seed in the West seems like the best form of action to do so. Washington is currently in a tie with the Toronto Raptors and needs to play well down the stretch.
The Wizards have a critical game coming up when they hit the road to face off against the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has fallen out of playoff contention and it’s fair to question how much motivation they will have the rest of the way, but a road game against a decent team won’t be easy for Washington.
The Wizards should be favored in this matchup, but Detroit has the talent to keep this game competitive.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, April 10, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds available for this and every game on the NBA Monday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Wizards are 47-31 straight up and 40-37-1 against the spread. Washington has played in 38 road games this season, going 17-20-1 against the spread. The Wizards are 25-20-1 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
The Pistons are 35-43 straight up and 36-41-1 against the spread. Detroit has done well against the spread in home games with a record of 23-16-1 against the spread. The Pistons are 13-21-1 against the season as an underdog.
Player to Watch
John Wall -- The Wizards point guard leads his team in points, assists and steals this season, averaging a double-double on the year. Wall is putting up 23.3 points per game while averaging 10.9 assists and two steals a game.
Wall had 41 points in the Wizards’ loss to the Clippers on March 29th and has captured three double-doubles in the last five games. He had 29 points against Detroit in the first meeting between the teams back in December and finished with 19 in the January matchup.
Wall is in his sixth year in the league and having his best season to date. He leads an offense that ranks fifth in the NBA with 109.4 points per game.
Key Stat
Three. That’s how many games back Detroit is from earning a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. There’s two problems with that number -- first, there are only four games left on the Pistons’ regular season schedule and second, there are three teams ahead of the No. 11 seed right now.
The Piston would not only need to win its remaining four games to snag a spot, but it would also need the Bulls, Heat and Pacers to lose all four of their games as well. It would take a miracle at this point.
Detroit has gone 2-12 since mid-March with the team’s only recent wins coming against the Suns and the Nets. Their chances are unbelievably slim now, and the Pistons know it.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Wizards used a mid-season surge to move to the top pack in the East. Washington hopes to make some noise in the playoffs, and with the Cavaliers struggling of late, certainly there is a better chance of making a deep run here compared to the stacked Western Conference.
Washington is a solid team and wants to get as favorable of a matchup as it can in every series. That’s why the No. 3 seed is so important, and why this game needs to be had.
With all that being said, don’t expect the Pistons to just roll over. Detroit isn’t a great team but it’s decent, and will give the Wizards some trouble. Take Washington to win this game, but if the spread is too large, consider a cover from Detroit.
NBA Odds: Wizards 104, Pistons 102
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