The Detroit Pistons host their traditional rivals the Chicago Bulls in Game-One of the highly anticipated second round NBA Playoff series at the Palace in Auburn Hills. The Pistons have made it to the second round for the sixth straight year and seem to be highly motivated to reach the NBA finals for the third time in four years. The playoff-tested Pistons are coming off their first series sweep since the Bad Boys era, disposing of the Orlando Magic with four businesslike wins. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons by scoring over 20 points in all four-games of the first round series versus the Magic.
The Bulls advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 1998 , when Michael Jordan led them to their sixth title. The Bulls are coming off a four game sweep of the Miami Heat in the first round led by a pair of third year players, Luol Deng and shooting guard Ben Gordon who combined to score 52 points a game against the Heat.
A key to tonight’s game could come down to which team coped best with the week long layoff since their last game.
Oddsmakers have installed Detroit the game favorite by a -5.0 chalk with a 182 point total. The price of a money line (ml) bet on the Pistons is -220 while the Bulls are getting +180 ml juice.
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last five games and is 5-1 SU in its last six games at home. The Pistons have not fared well against the spread (ATS) of late, going 1-7-2 in their last 10 games at home. The total has gone OVER in four of the Pistons last five games at home.
Chicago is 7-1 both SU and ATS in its last eight games and has gone 6-2 SU in its last eight games on the road. The total has gone OVER in four of Chicago’s last five games.
The Bulls will not be intimidated in the Palace, where they won by 18 points back on April 4. I think the Bulls at +5.0 on the side bet holds excellent value . I won’t be surprised if the total goes OVER as it has in 3-of-4 meetings between the teams during the regular season.
