San Antonio Spurs AT Detroit Pistons
Feb 8, 2011 at 7:30 PM EST
Opening Line: SA -6.5
Current Line: SA -6.5
Opening Total: 190
Current Total: 189
Opening Moneyline: SA -270 / Det +230
Current Moneyline: SA -285 / Det +235
San Antonio (42-8) has been good on the road this year with an outstanding 17-6 road record. It’s a good thing because they’ll need to be since they are only 3 games into a 9 game road trip while the AT&T Center hosts a rodeo. Their last home games was on Jan 29th, and their next won’t be until February 23rd.
On the other side of the ball will be the Detroit Pistons. They have a bit of a controversy going since Rip Hamilton is not playing and is feeling disrespected. It’s become so evident that Prince insisted it “(hasn’t) become a distraction for us,” and We need him. “We need him. There’s no doubt about that. At the same time a lot of games, sometimes we were playing behind the eight ball and that’s what we’re doing without him.” While Hamilton may welcome Prince’s respect, a trade seems almost inevitable at this point and the Pistons will likely not get much given Hamilton’s age and the fact that they will be forced into unloading him.
Some betting trends:
San Antonio is 13-2 SU in their last 15 games and the total has gone UNDER in 12 of those games. The total has also gone UNDER in 6 of their last 9 on the road and they are 4-1 SU in their last 5 road games. San Antonio is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games against Detroit and the total has gone UNDER in 8 of the last 11 games against the Pistons. San Antonio is 2-4 SU in their last 6 against the Pistons and 3-7 SU in their last 10 road games in Detroit. San Antonio is 3-7 ATS in their las 10 road games in Detroit and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of the last 5 games in Detroit.
Detroit is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 5. The total has gone OVER in 14 of Detroit’s last 19 home games and they are 4-2 SU in their last 6 home games. Detroit is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against San Antonio and the total has gone UNDER in 8 of the last 11 against the Spurs. Detroit is 7-3 SU in their last 10 home games against the Spurs.
Key Matchups:
Tony Parker & George Hill vs Rodney Stuckey & Tracy McGrady
This actually has the make up of a very good backcourt matchup. Parker truly got snubbed for an all star selection. How can a team be 42-8 and their starting point guard playing outstanding basketball, and still not make the all star team? Parker has been an all star in the past and he deserves to be again. Parker is averaging 17.5 points per game, 6.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 33 minutes a night. George Hill is averaging 11.2 points per game, 2.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 27 minutes a night. I could mention what Ginobili is doing, but this is more about the point guard eligible guards on both teams. Stuckey hasn’t been the primary ball handler when T-Mac is in the game, but is still a point guard in most respects. McGrady is averaging 16 points and 4.8 assists per game over his last 3 games and posted 20 points last game against Milwuakee. Over his career against the Spurs (this counts his hey day of course) he has averaged 21.6 points per game, 3.9 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 threes on 32%. While he probably won’t quite match those numbers tonight, he should have a good game, using his size advantage against Parker and Hill. McGrady is still a good player with a lot of shades of greatness still in him, even if he is much diminished and a shadow of his former self. Stuckey is day to day with a shoulder injury and if he can’t go expect Will Bynum and Ben Gordon handle the ball and play more minutes.
Tonight’s game should be a decent game, if you like defense. It won’t be very high scoring, though, and because of that the margin of victory shouldn’t be more than 15 points at the highest.
