The NBA odds usually aren’t attractive for a matchup of teams playing badly, but the Washington Wizards are getting 7 points at Detroit. Take the points.
Two very beat-up and struggling teams meet Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena, normally the sort of game one not just walks, but runs, away from when considering playing the NBA odds.
But the Washington Wizards are getting a whopping seven points from the Detroit Pistons and would be a good choice to cover, even if the Pistons are able to break their five-game losing streak.
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Point spread information comes to us courtesy of The Action Network.
The Wizards have lost seven of their last nine straight up and have an injury report that is hard to distinguish in length from an actual NBA roster, with eight of their 15 players on full NBA contracts listed. But the Pistons have seven players on their own injury report, so the battle of attrition goes both ways here.
Washington has been a good road pick all season, going 10-7-1 against the spread as the visiting team. Detroit has been a shaky pick all season long and is just 7-10 ATS at home.
The Wizards are 4-3 ATS in their last seven road games and are visiting a team at Detroit that has covered just once in its last seven at Little Caesars Arena. Washington is also 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games against the Pistons and is 10 days removed from smoking Detroit 133-119 as 2½-point road dogs on Dec. 16.
The Wizards are 2-0 against the Pistons this season, as they also won 115-99 as four-point favorites in D.C. on Nov. 4. Detroit, as previously mentioned, has lost five straight games straight up, but it has also failed to cover in every one of those games.
Add all of that up and you have a pretty attractive pick coming out of a game that on the surface looks like an awful matchup both aesthetically and if playing the NBA odds.
Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons (minus 7)
TV: NBC Sports Washington (Wizards), Fox Sports Detroit (Pistons)
Tickets: Little Caesars Arena, 7 p.m. Eastern
Records: Washington 9-20 (15-13-1 ATS, 10-7-1 road ATS), Detroit 11-20 (11-19-1 ATS, 7-10 home ATS)
Availability report (information taken from NBA’s 8:30 p.m. Eastern report on Wednesday).
Washington: OUT–Davis Bertans (right quad strain), Thomas Bryant (stress reaction, right foot), Rui Hachimura (groin injury), C.J. Miles (left wrist surgery), Isaiah Thomas (league suspension), Moritz Wagner (sprained left ankle), John Wall (left Achilles rehab); QUESTIONABLE–Jordan McRae (right ring finger surgery).
Detroit: OUT–Reggie Jackson (stress reaction, left lumbar spine), Luke Kennard (bilateral patella tendinitis), Khyri Thomas (right foot surgery); DOUBTFUL–Jordan Bone (left knee soreness); QUESTIONABLE–Bruce Brown (bilateral calf soreness); PROBABLE–Blake Griffin (body, flu), Christian Wood (left knee, bone bruise).
There are five other games on tap Thursday night.
New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets (minus 7½)
TV: MSG Network (Knicks), YES Network (Nets)
Tickets: Barclays Center, 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Records: New York 7-24 (15-16 ATS, 8-7 road ATS), Brooklyn 16-13 (16-13 ATS, 9-5 home ATS)
Availability report
New York: OUT–Kadeem Allen (two-way, G League), Reggie Bullock (cervical disc herniation), Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Wayne Ellington (sore left Achilles), Marcus Morris (sore left Achilles).
Brooklyn: OUT–Nicolas Claxton (left hamstring soreness), Kevin Durant (right Achilles rehab), Henry Ellenson (two-way, G League), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement), Caris LeVert (right thumb surgery), David Nwaba (right Achilles tear).
Notable: The New York Knicks might be a sneaky pick to cover in this matchup, as they are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 matchups with the Brooklyn Nets and 3-2 ATS in their last five on the road. But the Nets have been good as well, going 8-3 ATS over their last 11 games and covering in seven of their last eight games at Barclays Center.
In the last three meetings between the Gotham rivals, Brooklyn is 3-0 SU, but the Knicks are 2-1 ATS — keeping with the trend mentioned earlier. There is a chance New York could have Wayne Ellington back for this game; the erstwhile 3-point specialist (who is making just 30.4 percent this season, a career-low), has missed the last nine games with a sore Achilles.
Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder (minus 6)
TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Memphis (Grizzlies), Fox Sports Oklahoma (Thunder)
Tickets: Chesapeake Energy Arena, 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local)
Records: Memphis 11-20 (14-17 ATS, 6-7 road ATS), Oklahoma City 15-14 (18-11 ATS, 10-6 home ATS)
Availability report
Memphis: OUT–Andre Iguodala (not with team), Josh Jackson (G League), John Konchar (two-way, G League), Yuta Watanabe (two-way, G League).
Oklahoma City: OUT–Hamidou Diallo (right elbow hyperextension sprain), Luguentz Dort (two-way, G League), Justin Patton (G League), Andre Roberson (left knee injury recovery).
Notable: This is a matchup of two teams that have been good covers for awhile now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 6-3 ATS over their last nine games, while the Oklahoma City Thunder have been at that pace for twice as long — 12-6 ATS over its last 18. In head-to-head play, the Thunder have won nine of the last 10 SU, but Memphis has gotten the cover in five of those 10 meetings.
That head-to-head trend held up on Dec. 18, the last time the Grizzlies visited Oklahoma City. The Thunder got a 126-122 victory; Memphis covered as 6½-point underdogs and has covered in four of their last five games against the Thunder. Oklahoma City has won four straight games SU to get above the break-even mark for the first time all season.
San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks (minus 6½)
TV: TNT (national)
Tickets: American Airlines Center, 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local)
Records: San Antonio 12-17 (9-19-1 ATS, 5-7-1 road ATS), Dallas 19-10 (17-12 ATS, 6-9 home ATS)
Availability report
San Antonio: OUT–Drew Eubanks (two-way, G League), Keldon Johnson (G League), Luka Samanic (G League), Quinndary Weatherspoon (two-way, G League).
Dallas: OUT–Antonius Cleveland (two-way, G League), Josh Reaves (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Luka Doncic (right ankle sprain).
Notable: After missing the Dallas Mavericks‘ last four games, there is a chance Luka Doncic could return from his sprained ankle on Thursday. The Mavericks have gone 2-2 without him, including stunning wins at Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The San Antonio Spurs have been better ATS of late, going 5-4-1 over their last 10 games and 2-1-1 in their last four on the road.
The Mavericks are 13-5 ATS over their last 18 games, however, and San Antonio still has the worst coverage record in the NBA are just 32.1 percent. Dallas is not a great pick at home, however, nine of the 12 games it has failed to cover have been at American Airlines Center. The Mavs took the first meeting 117-110 at home and covered a 4½-point line.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings (minus 4½)
TV: Fox Sports North (Timberwolves), NBC Sports California (Kings)
Tickets: Golden 1 Center, 10 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local)
Records: Minnesota 10-19 (10-17-2 ATS, 8-7-1 road ATS), Sacramento 12-18 (16-14 ATS, 5-7 home ATS)
Availability report
Minnesota: OUT–Jake Layman (left toe sprain); QUESTIONABLE–Shabazz Napier (illness), Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee sprain).
Sacramento: OUT–Kyle Guy (two-way, G League), DaQuan Jeffries (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Bogdan Bogdanovic (right ankle soreness).
Notable: The Sacramento Kings have struggled of late, losing six of their last 10 games SU. The Minnesota Timberwolves would kill for that level of success, having lost 11 straight games SU while going 1-9-1 ATS in the process. The Kings have not been a great play the last couple of weeks, going 1-6 ATS in their last seven and 0-3 ATS in their last three at home.
This will be the first time the Timberwolves and Sacramento tangle this season, with Minnesota 2-1 both SU and ATS in the last three meetings between the clubs. Each team has a key health question — Karl-Anthony Towns has missed four straight games for the Wolves with a sprained knee, while Bogdan Bogdanovic has been out three in a row for the Kings with an ankle issue.
Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz (minus 5½)
TV: TNT (national)
Tickets: Vivint Smart Home Arena, 10:30 p.m. Eastern (8:30 p.m. local)
Records: Portland 14-17 (13-17-1 ATS, 7-9 road ATS), Utah 18-12 (13-17 ATS, 6-8 home ATS)
Availability report
Portland: OUT–Zach Collins (left shoulder dislocation), Rodney Hood (left Achilles’ tendon rupture), Jusuf Nurkic (left leg fracture).
Utah: OUT–Mike Conley (left hamstring strain).
Notable: The Portland Trail Blazers had a four-game SU winning streak snapped on Monday and visit a Utah Jazz club that had a five-game winning streak broken the same night. The Northwest Division rivals have not met this season, but Portland is 4-2 ATS in its last six games against the Jazz.
Utah has also only gotten two covers in its last five games at home, but the Trail Blazers have missed covering in two straight on the road, so there’s not much to work from there. In their last six games, the Jazz are 2-3-1 ATS despite five SU wins in the same span. In the last five, Portland is 2-2-1 ATS.