Posted on 3/5/2008 6:26:24 PM

NBA Betting Trends - Detroit Pistons vs. Boston Celtics

By Mike Rose

The Eastern conference has a big one in store for us tonight as the (44-16) Detroit Pistons invade “The Garden” to take on the (46-12) Boston Celtics. This colossal match-up pits two of the best teams in the league against one another, but shockingly, it wasn’t picked up by ESPN. Therefore, it will only be available to those on TV that either live in each clubs respective market or to subscribers of their cable companies “League Pass”. That said, the Pistons come into tonight’s game winners of two in a row and in 5 of their L/6. They sport a solid 21-11 SU mark as a visitor and have made their backers proud by going 17-14-1 ATS in those games. They currently own a 10-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division. As for the Celtics, they’ve all but wrapped up the Atlantic Division since they come into tonight’s contest with a lofty 14.5-game lead over the second place Toronto Raptors. They’ve been nothing short of sensational at home this season by winning 26 of their 30 games SU, and covering the spread in 16 of those games.

We last saw the Pistons last night at home when they welcomed in the Seattle Sonics. It was clear from the onset that Detroit was looking to coast to a victory last night, and coast they did as they barely pulled off the 100-97 home win and non-cover. The game was undecided in the final minute of play, but Amir Johnson sealed the deal late when he took a pass from Chauncey Billups and hit the lay-up in traffic to allow the Pistons to hold on for the 3-point win. "That was a tough game mentally - that happens to every team after they come back from the coast," Billups said. "Luckily, the kids got us going and we fed off that." If not for the youngster’s effort throughout the game, Detroit would have flown to Boston trying to digest a most embarrassing home loss to the (16-44) Sonics.

Boston won its sixth in a row last Sunday when they upended the Atlanta Hawks by a 98-88 final count, but failed to cover the 11.5-point spread in the process. The game was the third in a row that Boston failed to cover the spread. The Celtics have secured victories in 5 straight after dropping the first three of their Western Conference road trip right after the All Star break.

This will be the third meeting between these teams this season. Surprisingly, the road team has won each of the first two meetings. Detroit upended the Celtics ,87-85, in “The Garden” as 6-point road underdogs back on December 19th, but the Celtics returned the favor in “The Palace” as 2-point road pups ,92-85, at the beginning of the New Year. After the first two results this year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the road team is 7-0 ATS the L/7 meetings along with the underdog going 5-0 ATS their L/5 battles. Throw in the fact that Detroit is 5-2-1 ATS their L/8 trips to Beantown, and you’ve got yourself a nice little position on the Central Division members.

Oddsmakers opened the Celtics up as 4-point home chalks with the ‘Total’ set at 183.5. You can get down on both the side and ‘total’ at BetUS.com right now!!!

You’ll find the latest 2007-2008 NBA odds and lines in the best online sportsbook, BetUS.com. Betting on NBA player and game props makes every aspect of the game exciting. Join BetUS.com today to bet on the NBA and make online sports betting work for you!