Don’t look now; the Detroit Pistons are out to prove that they’re real contenders in the Eastern Conference this season. Saturday’s 103-86 win over the Denver Nuggets was a huge one as it gave them their fourth win at home this season to stay undefeated in the Palace at Auburn Hills.
The Pistons are winning on the strength of their defense. They’ve held each of their opponents to less than 86 points apiece at home, mainly thanks to the continued dominance of star center Andre Drummond down low. Drummond finished Saturday’s contest with 19 points and a whopping 20 rebounds to go with three timely blocks as he notched his 500th-career block that game and in just four years as a pro.
What’s more amazing is that the team is winning convincingly without its starting point guard in Reggie Jackson, who is still dealing with knee issues and has yet to play a game this season. The Pistons had five other players score in double-digits to support Drummond’s monster outing on Saturday for yet another well-rounded offensive attack.
As we speak, Detroit is fifth in the NBA this season at just 94.4 points allowed per contest. However, most of the team’s success has come at home and not on the road. Inversely, the Pistons have yet to win on the road this season and have not won away from the Motor City in four straight (1-3 ATS). With an in-form Clippers team on the horizon, it definitely appears that they’re in for a reality check in Los Angeles this Monday night.
For as good as the Pistons have relatively been this season, the Los Angeles Clippers appear to be in much better shape. They humbled the mighty San Antonio Spurs in Texas on Saturday, 116-92, behind an explosive 73-point first half. It was the most points given up through the first two quarters by a Greg Popovich-led Spurs team ever.
Blake Griffin scored a season-high 28 points for Los Angeles and looks to have found his imposing form once more after a rather tumultuous 2015-16 campaign. Chris Paul nearly had a triple-double as well on Saturday (nine points, eight boards and 10 assists), and the Clippers are clicking like never before to pose as a real threat once more out in the West. They shot a season-best 51.6 percent from the field that evening and against San Antonio’s coveted defense all the more.
And as strange as it may seem, the Clips are actually the best defensive team in the league so far, having allowed just an average of 90.4 points per contest this season – tops in the NBA.
Look for the team to keep things rolling with the visiting Pistons ahead. Los Angeles has won eight of its last 10 home games dating back to last season (7-3 ATS), with its latest loss at Staples being a mere two-point deficit against the Thunder whereas its last five victories have been by no less than 13 points apiece.
To top it all off, the Clippers have prevailed victorious over the Pistons in all 10 of their last meetings (6-3-1 ATS), so there’s really no indication that they’ll be easily upset by Detroit this Monday night.
