NBA Picks Monday 12/26/2016 – CLE vs. DET

Pick #1 – Cleveland Cavaliers 76ers at Detroit Pistons

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and the fresh start of a new year is almost upon us as we head into another wonderful Monday night of NBA basketball as we get excited to bet on the Cleveland Cavaliers (23-6) versus the Detroit Pistons (14-18) and we get a tired championship team coming off a rigorous holiday back to back. We feel great about this pick at first glace as the smart money is already shedding light on the value here moving this opening 204.5 OVER/UNDER to a to 202 over / under giving us every reason to believe the play is the UNDER in this spot. Breaking down the facts and stats further we see that the total has gone UNDER in 8 of Detroit's last 11 games and the total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games at home so we get a home team playing extremely slow basketball which should really set the tone for this game and that means all defense and a tough rod ahead for the offense. The recent offensive and deffensive performance statistics give us averages of 209.27 and 200.98 making it clear that the defenses have every capability to keep this UNDER. Both teams OVER/UNDER combined record for the year is 27-33-1 and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues. When it comes to pace of play Cleveland is 15 and Detroit is 27 so we get a bottom 5 team in terms of offensive pace at home against another slower team which should spell success for the UNDER. Equally favorable the Cavaliers are 17 in posessions per game and the Pistons are the number 28 team in the league so there should be absolutely no shortage of defense in this one. The public consensus for this game is 65% in favor of the over so we get the nice general consensus and public fade that we always like to have on our side in this one as well. The computer predicted scoring outcome of this game is 206 so a 202 UNDER play given all the above looks like it should check off the winner box for tonight.

Game Time:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons - Monday, December 26, 2016 7:35 PM

Spread:
705 Cleveland Cavaliers +4½ -110 +165
706 Detroit Pistons -4½ -110 -190

Total:
705 Cleveland Cavaliers Over 202 -110
706 Detroit Pistons Under 202 -110

Betting odds provided by 5Dimes

The Pick:
UNDER 202 (2 Units)

As always bet within your means and bankroll. Enjoy the games and be responsible when betting!

Picks By TexasMatt