Washington (24-32) at Detroit (25-29)
When: Monday, February 11th, 2019
Where: Little Caesars Arena,
Detroit, Michigan
Time: 7:05 ET | TV: FS Detroit,
NBCS Washington
Opening Odds: Detroit -4/217.5
The Eastern Conference’s top five teams are pretty much locked into those spots aside from seeding, so the final three spots are up for grabs with six teams realistically alive. Two of those will battle on Monday night as the Washington Wizards visit the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Four and a half games separate seeds No. 6 and 11, and both teams here are on the outside with Detroit a half-game behind Miami for the eighth spot and Washington two behind the Pistons. Washington has followed-up a three-game losing streak by winning their last two, but that was against a couple of the East’s worst in Chicago and Cleveland. Washington saw the debuts of forwards Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker from Chicago and used them to upend the Bulls 134-125 on Saturday. The Pistons seek their fourth win in a row after a 120-103 win over the New York Knicks in a home-and-home set. Detroit signed veteran shooting guard Wayne Ellington as a free agent after he cleared waivers on Saturday and expects him to fill in after shooting guard Reggie Bullock was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline. Both teams won at home in splitting the first two meetings of the season as Washington won the most recent 101-87 on January 21st.
Parker was routinely getting less than 20 minutes of action in his final days with Chicago, but is clearly part of the rotation in Washington and recorded 20 points, six assists and five rebounds in 35 minutes against the Bulls. He did turn the ball over four times but drained 9-of-15 shot attempts to record just his third 20-point outing since December 1st. The Wizards bench came up big versus Chicago with Parker and Chasson Randle each scoring 20, while Bo Portis (10 points, 12 rebounds) and small forward Wesley Johnson (14 points) also contributed. The Wizards final game before the All-Star Break will be at Toronto on Wednesday.
The always-reliable Andre Drummond had a monster game against the Knicks on Friday, recording 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting and bringing down 20 rebounds. The big center had 16 points and 11 boards in the December 26th meeting with Washington, but missed the latest one with a concussion. Power forward Blake Griffin scored 26 points and got to the foul line 15 times – making 12 – and scored 29 in the January 21st meeting in Washington. Point guard Reggie Jackson (14.8 points) is averaging 20.5 points over the last four games while hitting 13-of-26 three-pointers.
Neither team really deserves a playoff berth right now, but I like the direction Detroit is heading. Washington has one of the worst road records in all of the league at 7-21 and are 8-20 ATS away from home. The host team has covered four of the last five meetings, so I’m taking the Pistons in this one.
Pick: Pistons -4.5
Wizards are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Monday games.
Wizards are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Wizards are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
Wizards are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Wizards are 19-39 ATS in their last 58 road games.
Wizards are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Wizards are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.
Wizards are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest.
Wizards are 5-21 ATS in their last 26 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Pistons are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win.
Pistons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 2 days rest.
Pistons are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Pistons are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Pistons are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
Pistons are 7-17 ATS in their last 24 vs. NBA Southeast.
Pistons are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 6-0 in Wizards last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
Over is 5-0 in Wizards last 5 overall.
Under is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 road games.
Over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 games following a straight up win.
Over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 5-0 in Wizards last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
Over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 vs. NBA Central.
Over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 5-0 in Wizards last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 5-1 in Wizards last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Wizards last 5 games following a ATS win.
Under is 6-1 in Pistons last 7 games following a straight up win.
Under is 4-1 in Pistons last 5 games following a ATS win.
Under is 7-2 in Pistons last 9 vs. NBA Southeast.
Under is 12-4 in Pistons last 16 overall.
Under is 9-3 in Pistons last 12 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 9-3 in Pistons last 12 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 27-10-1 in Pistons last 38 Monday games.
Under is 8-3 in Pistons last 11 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 5-2 in Pistons last 7 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Wizards are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
Underdog is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
