Posted on
1/4/2008 6:48:43 PM
NBA Basketball Betting Action – Detroit at Toronto
By Charles Jay
BetUS NBA basketball betting odds: DETROIT –4, Total: 185.5
The Detroit Pistons (25-7 SU, 22-9-1 ATS), off another double-digit win, take their ten-game winning streak north of the border tonight as they visit the Toronto Raptors (17-15 SU, 18-14 ATS) in NBA action tipping off at 7 PM ET at the Air Canada Centre.
In the BetUS NBA betting odds, the Pistons are listed at -4, with the total posted at 185.5 points.
In the HEAD-to-HEAD NBA basketball betting trends:
* TOR has covered 16 of the last 23 meetings
* TOR has covered five of the last seven meetings as the home team
* TOR has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team
* DET has won eight of the last ten meetings SU
* Six of the last nine meetings have gone OVER the total
* DET has had the shooting edge in each of the last ten meetings
* TOR has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings
The Pistons shot 49% on Wednesday night and made 11 three-pointers in beating Washington 106-93 at the Verizon Center. Detroit is allowing 89.4 points a game, and just 43.3% shooting. The Pistons have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1. Also:
* DET is 17-1-1 ATS in its last 19 games
* DET has played eight of its last 11 games UNDER the total
* DET is 8-0-1 ATS in its last nine road games
* DET is 8-1 SU in its last nine road games
Toronto is second in the league in free throw percentage (81.1%). The Raptors are shooting 44.7 as a team, and hitting 7.4 three-pointers per game. Also:
* TOR has won two of its last six games SU
* TOR has covered two of its last eight games
* TOR has won and covered six of its last eight home games
* TOR has played eight of its last nine home games UNDER the total
Oddly, it is Detroit that has hit the long-range shots lately, hoisting 19 through the hoop in their last two games. Meanwhile, Toronto has hit just 14 three-pointers in their last four games. In Detroit's ten-game winning streak, eight of those wins have come by ten points or more, and only once has the opponent scored more than 93 points. Toronto has had three days to recover from a seven-game road trip, and they won their last outing, a five-point decision at New Orleans where they shot 51%. But that was a quick turnaround from three efforts where they couldn't reach 41%.
Detroit is 8-3 ATS as a road favorite. And we think it's kind of foolhardy to buck a team that has gone 17-1-1 ATS in its last 19 games (not to mention an 8-0-1 ATS streak on the road), especially with a team that is still playing without its point guard. Toronto is only 8-6 SU in its own building, and can't count on a lot of mistakes from a chemistry-rich Piston squad that has coughed it up only 11.3 times a game.
The only worry is that the Pistons would be looking ahead to a rematch with the Boston Celtics tomorrow night, but this veteran team can handle it. We're going to stay on the bandwagon until concrete evidence points us in another direction. We'll lay the points with Detroit, the four-point favorite in the BetUS NBA betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: DETROIT
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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a freelance writer and handicapper who not only can make his shots from the top of the key, but also contributes with gusto to the BetUS Locker Room)