Miami (11-6) at Detroit (4-12)
When: Tuesday, November 23rd 2021
Where: Little Caesars Arena,
Detroit, MI
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: League Pass
Opening Odds: Miami -8/205.5
The Detroit Pistons look to rebound from a physically emotional loss on Sunday night when they conclude a five-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Miami Heat at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons dominated SportsCenter on Sunday night for all the wrong reasons. During their 121-116 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, second-year center Isaiah Stewart suffered a facial cut that required eight stitches after LeBron James struck him while battling for position on a third-quarter free throw. That set-off a benches-clearing fracas and Stewart had to be physically restrained by his teammates several times before racing down the hallway and reportedly going for the Lakers locker room. Both he and James were ejected. Detroit built a 17-point lead after that before the Lakers stormed back with a 37-point fourth quarter en route to the road win.
Meanwhile, the Heat last played on Saturday and they also blew a fourth-quarter lead in losing 103-100 at the Washington Wizards to begin a four-game road trip. Miami couldn’t hold a 10-point lead with five minutes to play and it wasn’t the first time that has happened with this team. On three other occasions this month, the Heat have either lost after holding a sizable fourth-quarter lead or barely hung on for the victory. Miami is an impressive 12-5 against the spread this season and only one-game out of the No. 1 seed in the East entering Monday’s action. The loss snapped the Heat’s four-game winning streak, which was preceded by three straight setbacks. Miami won two-of-three meetings with Detroit last season and all three went over the total.
Superstar Jimmy Butler leads this team offensively and was at it again on Saturday. Butler poured in 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting and has been on fire since returning from an ankle injury. After missing three road games, Butler is averaging 30.7 points over the past three games and has shot 55 percent or better from the field in five of his past six games. Overall, he’s averaging 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Shooting guard Tyler Herro came off the bench to record his fifth 20+ point effort in his last six games and drilled 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. After going 1-for-13 over a two-game stretch in the middle of the month, Herro is 11-for-23 since. The Heat will play at Minnesota on Wednesday.
Jerami Grant had a monster game in defeat the other night, recording a season-high 36 points including 5-of-9 from 3-point territory. Another bright spot against the Lakers was the fact that rookie Cade Cunningham recorded his first career triple double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. None of those assists came in the fourth quarter as the Pistons were outscored 37-17. Starting guard Killian Hayes missed the loss with a sprained left thumb and is out indefinitely. Detroit ranks 29th in scoring (99.6), 29th in field goal percentage (41.0) and 30th in shooting the three (30.1). They also rank 30th in defending, allowing opponents to shoot 48.1 percent from the field. The Pistons will start a five-game road trip in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
I know it’s a lot of points for a road game, but this Detroit team is really bad on both ends of the floor. Butler is heating up once again and the Heat will prove to be too much down the stretch for the Pistons.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Heat -9
