The NBA proved during the COVID-19 pandemic that it will play basketball — even if it means all of the teams and players existing within a “bubble.” What that means for sports bettors in Michigan is the Detroit Pistons will be back in action sooner than you think.
In fact, the NBA picked Dec. 22, 2020, as the start date for the season and intends to get an entire 72-game season in before the Summer Olympics kick off in late July. What will the 2020-21 season look like? No one knows for sure, but based on other sporting events across the country, we might even see fans in the stands — albeit a limited number — enjoying the home Pistons games at Little Caesars Arena.
The real question is what will the Detroit Pistons even be able to bring to the hardwood this coming season? Can the Motor City’s NBA team be competitive? Can it make a run for the postseason?
One thing that seems likely is there will be professional basketball this winter and into spring 2021, and there will be plenty of basketball betting opportunities available. Read on for an exclusive guide to betting on the Detroit Pistons online in Michigan including live game odds, futures odds and betting tips.
Check our feed below for the best current moneyline, spread and totals odds for the next Pistons game at Michigan online sportsbooks. Click any odds to go directly to the sportsbook and claim your free bets.
NBA Finals? The Detroit Pistons? Aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves? Not even a little, actually. NBA futures bets are a big part of the sports bets made on the Pistons every year.
What are the current odds the Detroit Pistons will surprise the field and make a run to the Eastern Conference or NBA Finals? Check the current best odds at Michigan online sportsbooks right here:
Blake Griffin, when healthy, has proven himself to be one of the more reliable basketball players in the NBA throughout his career. His short time in Detroit has made him plenty of Motor City fans. But can he win the MVP award? Will he put up his typical big numbers per game or over the season?
Here are the latest game props and MVP odds on Griffin at Michigan online sportsbooks.
So you’re ready to place some bets on the Bad Boys? Well, you’re going to have a couple of choices to make.
First, do you want to go to a retail location, or do you want to make your sports bets online? Once these options become available — either in late 2020 or early 2021 — you’ll have plenty of choices to pick from. The in-person betting at brick-and-mortar locations is just that: You show up, you place your bets, and it’s all pretty simple.
For online sportsbooks and sports betting apps, there are a few steps to take before you can make your first bet.
The Pistons’ 2020-2021 72-game schedule has not yet been released by the NBA, but we’ll update this section once it is available. As of right now, we know that the Detroit Pistons will play each Eastern Conference opponent three times and each Western Conference team twice to fill out the remainder of their schedule.
The first half of the schedule will come during training camp, and the second half about 30 games into the season.
The NBA season shut down on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it restarted again at the end of July it did so with just 22 teams. The Pistons were not one of the teams that were a part of the restart.
The team finished the season with a 20-46 record, which put it at 13th place in the Eastern Conference. It didn’t help that Blake Griffin was available for only 18 games, and then the team went and traded Andre Drummond in February.
The team was 10-14 heading into a tough matchup against Dallas on Dec. 12 in Mexico City, and then the wheels fell off. The Pistons went 9-32 for the remainder of the season, which included a 1-11 run after the Drummond trade was finalized.
When it comes time to place that first bet on the Pistons, or any NBA team for that matter, you’re going to see odds listings that look something like this:
What does that all mean? The good news is that none of it is really complicated to understand, so we’ll give you a quick breakdown of what you’re seeing.
First up, and most obvious, are the team names. What you’re seeing in the listing above is a game in which the Detroit Pistons will be playing the Los Angeles Lakers.
Next to that, represented by the +13.5 and the -13.5, is the point spread. A negative number means the team is expected to win by that much, so here we are seeing that oddsmakers have determined that the Lakers are the favorites, with a spread of 13.5 points.
If you choose to make a wager on the point spread, you have to wager on either the Lakers winning by 14 or more, or the Pistons losing by 13 points or fewer, or winning outright. The -110 next to each is the odds for that wager, so a winning $110 bet on either team would pay you $210 — your $110 stake plus the $100 you made in profit.
Moving to the next set of odds and you’ll see the moneyline. This is the simplest bet of all. Do you think the Lakers are going to win or the Pistons? The oddsmakers have made their prediction clear with negative odds for the Lakers, while the positive odds for the Pistons indicate they are the underdog in this matchup. If you think the Lakers will win, you’ll need to place $175 wager to win $100. If you place a $100 wager on Detroit and they win, you’ll win $155.
The final odds listed are for a totals bet, also known as the over/under. The line for the combined points from the two teams is set at 203.5. You can place a wager on whether the final combined score will be over or under that line. Both the over and the under bets carry -110 odds, which means you need to wager $110 to win $100.
Live bets are typically more readily available on online sportsbooks and apps. Retail locations just don’t usually have the technology to keep up with the constantly transitioning odds for live or in game betting.
In game bets can include a variety of wagers for bettors to choose from. Here are some examples of the kinds of live betting opportunities you might see on a sportsbook app during various Detroit Pistons games.
The Detroit Pistons have a long and storied history. For a look at how things have gone recently, here are the team’s statistical leaders over the past five seasons.
Year | Points | Assists | Blocks | Rebounds | Steals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20* | Derrick Rose, 904 | Derrick Rose, 278 | Andre Drummond, 82 | Andre Drummond, 775 | Andre Drummond, 97 |
2018-19 | Blake Griffin, 1,841 | Blake Griffin, 402 | Andre Drummond, 138 | Andre Drummond, 1,232 | Andre Drummond, 136 |
2017-18 | Andre Drummond, 1,171 | Ish Smith, 260 | Andre Drummond, 127 | Andre Drummond, 1,247 | Andre Drummond, 114 |
2016-17 | Tobias Harris, 1,321 | Ish Smith, 418 | Andre Drummond, 89 | Andre Drummond, 1,115 | Andre Drummond, 124 |
2015-16 | Reggie Jackson, 1,489 | Reggie Jackson, 492 | Andre Drummond, 112 | Andre Drummond, 1,198 | Andre Drummond, 119 |
*The 2020 season was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sometimes the best way to build a legacy is through great drafting. That hasn’t really been the case for the Pistons over the past decade, but they’ve picked some quality players nonetheless.
Here are the NBA draft picks for each year of the past decade for the Pistons.
The Detroit Pistons are on their 11th head coach since 2000, and he is currently heading into his third season at the helm in the Motor City.
Dwane Casey is a veteran NBA coach with a 61-87 record over his first two seasons leading the Pistons. His career win-loss record stands at 434-394.
Casey is assisted by Sidney Lowe, who also used to be a head coach in the NBA. Other supporting coaches are Sean Sweeney, Tim Grgurich and Micah Nori.
Here’s a list of the other coaches who have led the Pistons since the beginning of the century.
Coach | Years | Record with Pistons |
---|---|---|
Stan Van Gundy | 2014-2018 | 152-176 |
John Loyer | 2014* | 8-24 |
Maurice Cheeks | 2013-2014 | 21-29 |
Lawrence Frank | 2011-2013 | 54-94 |
John Kuester | 2009-2011 | 57-107 |
Michael Curry | 2008-2009 | 39-43 |
Flip Saunders | 2005-2008 | 176-70 |
Larry Brown | 2003-2005 | 108-56 |
Rick Carlisle | 2001-2003 | 100-64 |
George Irvine | 2000-2001 | 46-60 |
*Loyer became head coach during 2014 after Cheeks was released.
The Detroit Pistons played at the Palace of Auburn Hills from 1988 to 2017. At that point, the team moved its operations to the newly constructed Little Caesars Arena, which is also home to the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
There’s nothing quite like catching a game on television or on the radio, right? Thankfully in Detroit, you have plenty of options to keep tabs on what the Pistons are up to.
Here’s a list of the current broadcasters who cover the Pistons.
The majority of Detroit Pistons games will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit, which is a regional sports network focused primarily on professional and college teams. For those who don’t live locally, you can likely subscribe to FSD on Hulu, AT&T Now or YouTube.tv.
You can also get NBA.tv, which live streams all of the Pistons out-of-market games. Keep in mind that if you are in the Pistons’ “home region,” you will be subject to blackouts.
You don’t want to be hanging out at home and enjoying the Detroit Pistons? Well, you’re in luck.
In Michigan, there are sports bars around just about every corner, and when the NBA season is in full swing you will be able to sidle up to just about any of them and watch the game. Here are five top live spots for betting on the Detroit Pistons:
The Detroit Pistons are one of the NBA’s oldest franchises. They began their life in 1941 as the Zollner Pistons in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were owned by Fred Zollner at the time, and played in the National Basketball League, winning the championship in 1944 and 1945. The team transitioned to the Basketball Association of America in 1948 and then the NBA in 1949.
In those early years, the team made it to the NBA Finals in 1955 and 1956 but failed to take home the title.
In 1957, the team moved to Detroit and trouble soon began. The team posted losing records in its first 13 seasons in Detroit, and even after drafting future Hall of Famer Bob Lanier No. 1 in the 1970 NBA Draft, it continued to struggle.
The winds of change began in 1981 when the team drafted point guard Isiah Thomas. By 1988, the team had assembled a crew of very talented players that included Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, and Vinnie Johnson and made a run to the NBA Finals where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers. The next season, the Pistons, under the guidance of coach Chuck Daly, used physical play and aggressive strategies to upend the Lakers and win the first championship since the team’s arrival in Detroit. The “Bad Boy Pistons” repeated in 1990, winning the championship against the Portland Trail Blazers.
It wasn’t until the 2000s that the Pistons were able to repeat the magic that made them NBA champs. Dumars was now the general manager, and he assembled a team that included Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton. They won the NBA title in 2004 over the Lakers, and made another appearance in the championship series in 2005 but fell to the San Antonio Spurs.
The team has only had four owners throughout its history. From 1941-1974, Fred Zollner controlled the Pistons during their time in Fort Wayne and the move to Detroit. In 1974, the team was acquired by William Davidson, who owned it until his death in 2009. His widow, Karen Davidson, took over the team until 2011, when it was sold to Tom Gores, who is the present team owner.
The greatest players in Pistons’ history are pretty easy to spot. The following players own all-time records with the franchise. Hall of Fame inductees are indicated by an asterisk. (Note: You can see what players had their jersey retired down in the frequently asked questions section.)
The Pistons are owned by Tom Gores, who has been in control of the franchise since 2011.
According to SeatGeek, the average price for a ticket to a Pistons game is $65. They have been known to go as low as $11.
Since the Pistons joined the NBA, the team has made the playoffs 39 times. Since the 2010 season, Detroit has made it to the postseason twice.
The 2004 NBA championship team consisted of Chucky Atkins, Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell, Hubert Davis, Tremaine Fowlkes, Darvin Ham, Richard Hamilton, Lindsey Hunter, Mike James, Darko Miličić, Mehmet Okur, Tayshaun Prince, Željko Rebrača, Bob Sura, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Corliss Williamson.
Out of all of them, Prince was the last to leave the NBA, retiring following the 2015-16 season, during which he played for Minnesota. He is now the vice president of basketball affairs for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Ham is now an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, while Hunter is the head coach for the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils men’s basketball team. Williamson was an NBA assistant coach from 2013-19.
Billups is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, and Miličić plays professional basketball in Serbia, where he also owns and operates a 125-acre apple orchard.
Rasheed Wallace coaches high school basketball in North Carolina, and Ben Wallace is a part owner of the Grand Rapids Drive team in the NBA G League.
In 2019, the Pistons were estimated to be worth approximately $1.45 billion, which is a lot more than the $325 million Tom Gores paid for the team in 2011. That puts their value above the Red Wings and Tigers but below the Detroit Lions. See more here:
Nos. 1 (Chauncey Billups), 2 (Chuck Daly), 3 (Ben Wallace), 4 (Joe Dumars), 10 (Dennis Rodman), 11 (Isiah Thomas), 15 (Vinnie Johnson), 16 (Bob Lanier), 21 (Dave Bing), 32 (Richard Hamilton) and 40 (Bill Laimbeer).
The Detroit Pistons can be found on Twitter with the username @DetroitPistons.