Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
Time: 8:30 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: DET -3.5
Total: 206.5
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The Detroit Pistons are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoffs chase. Detroit sits at 23-20 and in the No. 6 spot in the East. It will travel to face the Denver Nuggets as 3.5 point underdogs.
Denver is just 8-14 at home this season while the Pistons are 9-13 on the road. The Nuggets have lost its past two games and six of its past 10, but are still just 3.5 games behind No. 8 Sacramento in the West’s chase. Seeing the Nuggets pull through and make the postseason would be a shocker, but Denver has not been as bad as most suspected it would be when it parted ways with leading scorer and assist man Ty Lawson (who has gone on to play horribly in Houston this season).
The Nuggets lost a heartbreaker last night to the Memphis Grizzlies as Marc Gasol had the go-ahead three-point play that sent Denver packing with a 102-101 loss. Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari both had 17 points in the loss, but neither is assuredly a Nugget past the trade deadline. With the exceptions of Gary Harris and Emmanuel Mudiay, the entire Nuggets roster should be prime for the picking if NBA teams come calling next month as we approach the trade deadline.
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And both Gallo and Faried have immense value. Faried is still a top-notch rebounder and Gallinari can function brilliantly as a stretch-4 in this new era (though he has been playing small forward for Denver). The Nuggets also would be likely not to include Will Barton in any deals, and he had 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting in the loss last night.
Gallinari could net a real chip though. He is averaging 19 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while posting a PER of 19.3. The Nuggets would likely snap any offer for a prospect and a draft pick, with whatever salary maneuvers had to be made to do such a deal. Faried is averaging 12.5 points and nine rebounds per game, while posting a team-high PER of 20.1. The Nuggets have two players that could help the rebuild progress to be sure.
Mudiay has been a bit of a puzzle for Denver. His defensive abilities and playmaking skills are certainly worthy of the No. 8 overall pick Denver expended, but his shooting ability has cast a cloud over what his potential could really be. Mudiay is shooting just 32 percent on the season, but he has shown signs of improvement in the Nuggets’ last five games.
Over that span he has shot 38.2 percent from the floor and 33 percent from three-point range while averaging 11.4 points, 5.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. Much in the mold of Rajon Rondo or Elfrid Payton, Mudiay has been dared to shoot the ball, but he is so speedy and crafty it has not impeded his play entirely. Nevertheless, a summer of working intensely on his shot could take his game to the next level.
The Nuggets certainly are hoping so.
This is a Nuggets team sure to be in transition in the upcoming season, but there is talent on the roster and valuable trade chips. The team could be in a far worse position, in other words.
The Pistons have dropped two of its past three games with losses to Chicago and New Orleans and a win over the Houston Rockets sandwiched between. The loss last night to New Orleans came 115-99 as Anthony Davis had a big game with 32 points for the Pelicans. Detroit put four scorers in double figures, paced by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 23 points.
Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 20 points in 20 minutes, and the Pistons may be showcasing Jennings for a trade. He has not been a big factor this season and the Pistons seem pleased with Reggie Jackson as its 1-man. That leaves Jennings on the outside looking in, but teams are aware of how well he can shoot the basketball and what type of scorer he is.
Jackson has become something of a star for Detroit, averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while posting a 20.1 PER. Over his past five games Jackson has averaged 15.2 points, 6.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor.
On the season Jackson is hitting 34.1 percent from three point range but over that five game span (which featured three losses), he has been good for just 21 percent behind the arc. Detroit relies heavily on the powers of center Andre Drummond in the post, though too.
Drummond lead the league in rebounding at 15.5 per game while also scoring 17.7 points per game. His PER of 22.9 represents Detroit’s highest efficiency rating. Drummond shoots 52 percent from the floor on 14.3 attempts per night and has encompassed a role much like Stan Van Gundy’s former pupil Dwight Howard.
Drummond may be the league’s next big thing at center, and at this point it may only be a question of who is the bigger beast between he and Clippers’ 5-man DeAndre Jordan.
