NBA Thursday: Greg Frank picks Wizards vs Pistons – Can Andre Drummond and Detroit muster up the effort on defense

1-2 Christmas Day, 53-54-1 overall.

Wizards (+7) @ Pistons (229)

Pick: Under 229

Washington wraps up a four-game road trip tonight in Detroit and is playing its seventh game on the highway in its last eight. The Wizards are third in the NBA in points per game coming in averaging 117.5. However, they’re not exactly a top-notch defensive team which gives them the third-best over record in the NBA at 17-11-1. Therefore, when taking unders with Wizards games, it’s more about picking spots when they won’t score as much because it’s hard to count on them for much defense. The end of a lengthy stretch of road games would seem to be one of those spots. The Pistons haven’t exactly defended well of late having allowed at least 112 points in five straight games. So often we discuss how effort and intensity can result in unders and one would figure the Pistons are done getting embarrassed defensively and will draw the line in the sand against a bottom feeder like the Wizards, a team they allowed 133 points to at home 10 days ago. Betting an under with these two teams might be tough, but sometimes the best bets are the hardest ones to make.

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