The Washington Wizards (13-36) and Detroit Pistons (37-12) will face off in the NBA tonight. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The game will broadcast live on FDSDET.
The Pistons are 14.5-point favorites over the Wizards on the spread (Pistons -14.5), with the over/under set at 226.5 total points. Detroit is a -900 favorite to win outright on the moneyline, while Washington is +600 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Wizards vs. Pistons predictions and NBA picks for Thursday, February 5.
Wizards vs Pistons Prediction, Picks
- Wizards vs Pistons pick: Wizards +14.5 (-110)
My Pistons vs. Wizards best bet is on Washington to cover the spread. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live NBA odds page.
Wizards vs Pistons Odds
| Wizards Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+14.5 -110 | 226.5 -110o / -110u | +600 |
| Pistons Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-14.5 -110 | 226.5 -110o / -110u | -900 |
Wizards vs Pistons NBA Preview
No, Anthony Davis will not be playing. No, Trae Young will not be playing. Yes, the Wizards traded three of their actually playable guys on Wednesday for Davis.
I still like Washington tonight.
Here’s the trick: let’s take the names off the jerseys for a second, which is easy with Wizards, since most people don’t recognize who they are anyway.
After the midway point of the season (Game 40) since 2012, teams with a winning percentage less than 30% are 73-52-4 (58%) ATS against teams with a win percentage over 70%.
Translation: in the dog days of the season, everything gets messy, and the good teams don’t cover vs. the horrible teams.
The Pistons are also a messy, ugly team. They have been great at dominating the bad teams — 6-1 as double-digit favorites ATS.
However, the Pistons are coming off a monster win vs. the Nuggets on Tuesday, so this is a letdown spot.
For the Wizards, they’ve covered six of their last eight games.
The Wizards did just trade Khris Middleton, but one of their best lineups over the last month has been three-man combos of Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, and Tre Johnson, who is quietly starting to polish up.
Wizards vs Pistons Predictions, Betting Analysis
Spread
I make this spread Pistons -12.5 with priors, and much less because Detroit’s profile is actually a little shaky.
The Pistons also have a large number of players questionable, including Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris, and Daniss Jenkins is unavailable due to his two-way status running out of games.
So with all that said, I’ll back Washington to hang within the number, and given the wonkiness of the trade deadline? It would not shock me to see the Wizards pull of a moneyline upset.
Over/Under
I make this total 222.5, so three points of value on the under. Unders have been hitting at a high rate.
If I’m wrong and the Wizards get blown out, they may score 80 points in this one.
The Wizards play faster than they should, and I wonder, now that they have traded their big pieces if they’ll actually try and focus on how they want to play next year, which will be slower.
Meanwhile, Detroit is the 2nd-best defense in the league and will hound Washington.
If the Wizards hang, it’ll be because Detroit’s offense is struggling.
This feels like a messy game, especially if Cade and Jenkins are both out, and the Pistons don’t have ball-handlers.
Player Prop
Ausar Thompson Over 10.5 Points
Ausar Thompson averages the third-most points in the paint for Detroit, and if the Pistons are low on ball-handlers, he will see more touches in this game.
Washington is 23rd in opponent rim percentage. Duren is an easy one, this is the sneakier derivitive play.
Wizards vs Pistons Best Bets
- Wizards +14.5 (-110)
- Under 226.5 (-110)
- Ausar Thompson Over 10.5 Points (-112)
Pistons vs Wizards Betting Trends
