NBA Basketball
2012-04-18 - Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Wednesday 18 April 2012 - Tip Off 7:30pm ET
12:30am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Atlanta Hawks (36-25) hope to finish the season on a high and perhaps move up the Eastern Conference Play Off ladder from their current position of Number 5. That seems unlikely with the Indiana Pacers setting the pace above them, but they still want to enter the Play Offs with some momentum as they take on the Detroit Pistons (23-38).
The last five games they play this season will all be at home for the Hawks, including against Eastern rivals the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Atlanta will want to do better than their last game here which saw them blown out by the Toronto Raptors, although they revenged that loss the day after in Canada.
Detroit come into the game having absolutely demolished the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers in their last game. The Pistons won that one by 39 points, but they had been leading by an incredible 50 points after three quarters, although they have not played so well on the road recently.
The Pistons have been blown out by Miami and Orlando over the last couple of weeks on the road, although they insist they are not just playing out the season but they want to build momentum for the next season.
They have lost 8 of their last 10 road games coming into this one.
Head to Head
Atlanta have won 2 of the 3 season games between the teams, but they are 0-2-1 in those games against the spread.
The Hawks have dominated at home in recent games in the series, winning 7 in a row while restricting the Pistons to 88.9 points per game.
Detroit are 3-1 against the spread in the last 4 games here.
Atlanta are 14-14 against the spread at home this season, Detroit are 13-18 on the road.
Atlanta are 20-14-2 against the spread as the favourite, Detroit are 22-25-1 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
Atlanta are 7-2-1 against the spread in the last 10 games they have been favoured.
Detroit are 6-16 against the spread in their last 22 games as the road underdog given between 5 and 10.5 points.
They are 3-11 against the spread in their last 14 games against a team that has won at least 60% of their home games.
Prediction
I am going to back the Atlanta Hawks to get a win here and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, Detroit are 1-5 against the spread in their last 6 games in the second of back to back nights play.
Second, the Pistons have struggled to bounce back from big wins, going 2-8 against the spread following a double-digit win.
Third, the Pistons have also gone just 5-8 against the spread following a Division game.
The Pick :
Atlanta Hawks 103-91 Detroit Pistons
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Atlanta Hawks - 9 Points @ 1.92
