Coby White Out
Zach Collins Out
Caris LeVert Probable
Marcus Sasser Doubtful
Jaden Ivey Out
The Pistons are heading to Chicago to start their season. With both teams holding onto young talent, the hype between these teams is very one-sided. Detroit is looking like the favorite, while Chicago still has a lot of questions surrounding them. And when you look at it, that’s not entirely unfair.
On paper, these teams look somewhat similar. Both have solid young guard rotations, decent centers, and intriguing young talent on the benches. However, a closer look reveals more nuances. Chicago is a confusing team. The roster is built with below-average defenders and is top-heavy with guards who need the ball in their hands. Nikola Vucevic offers some flexibility with his shooting, but defensively, he’s too weak in the post. The brightest spot on this team is their 11th pick from the 2024 draft, Matas Buzelis. He has shown some moments in his rookie year, and with an elite NBA frame, he has the potential to make an impact in the league. Pair him with Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White when he returns from injury, and a future begins to take shape. Add in Josh Giddey, and there are reasons to be optimistic about this team. However, they’re unlikely to win many games. Without a solid defensive stopper, aging post players, and limited perimeter scoring, this isn’t a modern NBA team. They’re likely to struggle tonight against an improving Detroit roster.
Detroit continues to ride their upward momentum. With Cunningham emerging as a true star, this team now has their centerpiece to develop around. They’ve done a decent job adding talent around him too. They’ve built a strong young frontcourt with some veteran support from Tobias Harris. They did lose some shooting in the off-season with Malik Beasley departing, and Jaden Ivey is again unavailable. However, they brought in Duncan Robinson, who should provide a steady hand on offense. Overall, the roster makes sense. Surround Cade with shooting and size at the forwards. It’s working too—last year, the team was a tough out in the playoffs, nearly knocking out the Knicks. Now that Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson have had another year to mature, and with Duren anchoring the post, the defense could be excellent this year. If either of those guys takes a leap, Detroit will be a scary team to face. With size across the roster, small lineups will struggle. Their biggest weakness is likely perimeter scoring. Beasley’s rise as one of the best three-point shooters was unprecedented and propelled the Pistons into being a competitive team. Without his elite scoring, the offense will need to find more efficiency elsewhere. But we’ll see how it all comes together tonight.
Overall, Detroit has more talent and substance than Chicago, but that doesn’t mean they can’t slip. The Bulls have been a tough team to play, and when their offense is flowing, it’s dangerous. However, like most games, I think the Detroit defense is going to be too strong. As long as Cunningham is hitting and the Detroit at-rim defense can hold up, they should take this one. That’s why I’m betting on the Pistons moneyline, the over on the 236.5 total points, and the Detroit spread at -2.5.
Money line: DET (-148) / CHI (+124)
Total Points: 236.5
Spread: -2.5 DET (-118) / +2.5 CHI (-102)
Coming off an electrifying season last year, Cunningham is set for another strong year. Cade demonstrated a wide range of scoring ability, hitting threes, getting to the line, and using his size to create space. He was the entire engine of that offense, running the show. Now, with another year for Cade and the team to develop, he should be in a prime position to score heavily again this season. Averaging 20 points a game in preseason while playing only around 20 minutes, a full workload should give Cade plenty of opportunity to go over tonight.
This seems like a very low number of Dosunmu with White out. He’s been an elite scoring threat for a while, and in the preseason, he showed some solid improvements. Averaging 12 points a game last season, and over that in this preseason, 13 points looks very achievable. This is a line you might even want to consider the alternate 15+ points line, sitting at +134. Desunmu should be at the center of Chicago’s offense tonight.
Duren was a top rebounder last year, averaging 10.3 per game. However, setting the line at 11.5 seems a bit high considering the players around him. Duren will face some solid competition for rebounds tonight with Cunningham, Harris, and Thompson in the starting lineup. Plus, his tendency to foul could limit his minutes, making the under a much safer bet tonight.
With the Bulls and Giddey finalizing a deal, we can finally see Giddey settle in for the long run on this team. He’s always been a solid passer, and with some scoring talent around him, he should be able to rack up a decent number of assists. He averaged 7.2 assists per game last season and was posting solid numbers in the preseason. The nine assists may be a bit high, but I still think it’s a strong line.