The Pistons Empire Crumbling – Orlando vs. Detroit

The NBA betting line for the Magic-Pistons tilt tonight has opened up as a near-double-digit monster. If this were the Pistons of old, I wouldn’t be surprised. But considering how miserable the Detroit Pitons betting crowd has been faring this season, I’m not surprised. The Pistons have been nothing short of absolutely horrific, and you can definitely blame it all on Allen Iverson.

Why Joe Dumars blew up his winning recipe to bring on an over-the-hill icon for Mr. Big Shot is still beyond me. The sad news is that Allen Iverson is somehow the Pistons’ leading scorer at 18.0 points. My question is, no matter how big of a personality A.I. can be, how has Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince not stepped up and voiced their concerns? How have the three remaining players from that epic Pistons’ roster remain so alienated on a team that they helped build. Rasheed is averaging just 12.7 points with 7.6 boards while Prince has shriveled to his former self with only 13.5 points per game.

Point guard is simply one of those positions you can’t ignore. Look at all the thriving underachievers and you’ll see exactly why they’re winning. Chris Paul is in New Orleans, Derrick Rose has resurrected the Bulls, and even Mike Bibby has steered the Hawks from a complete meltdown. How did Dumars screw this up so bad?

NBA Betting Trends

-Detroit is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games

-Detroit is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games

-Detroit is 4-2 ATS in their last 6 when playing Orlando

-Orlando is 16-7 SU in their last 23 games

-Orlando is 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games at home

-Orlando is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing Detroit

The only time these two teams have played this season is around New Years, when Detroit caused an upset with a 3.5-point margin in the Palace. Now that the team is on the road, facing a surging Magic team while riding a five-game losing streak, I don’t know how to say it – but all hope is lost in this one.

Rafer Alston has been a shoot-first scorer for the Magic, which is not exactly what they want. Jameer Nelson was an opportunist, and though the Magic have maintained the eighth best scoring offense in the league, I don’t know how long Alston can keep up this magic run. The Magic score 102.4 points per game, and Detroit’s defense is fourth overall on the road with just 94.5 points against.

However, this game is a matchup nightmare for the Pistons, who have a tendency to get buried by perimeter shooting teams. With Alston on board, this team can bury threes all day long, and Hedo and Rashard are hot hands right now. With Detroit rocking the cellar as the second lowest scoring team in the NBA with just 93.0 points per game, I don’t expect Detroit to keep up with the scoring punch of the Magic.

Detroit Pistons (27-29) vs. Orlando Magic (42-15)

Friday, February 27th — Amway Arena, Orlando — 7:00pm EST

NBA Betting Line: Orlando -9.5 (187)

The Pistons have stopped playing for each other, their coach and their fans. They don’t care anymore. Chauncey would never let morale fall this far, but Iverson is not that motivator anymore. In fact, he never was. He led by example by taking over games, but when it comes to the intangibles of motivating your squad to a rallying point, I just don’t see Iverson with that ability. It’s uncanny that at this juncture in the Piston Empire that Dumars would supplant Billups for an aging Iverson. At least the Magic made the best move possible by replacing an injured Nelson with Skip To My Lou. There’s no excuse for what Dumars has done to Detroit. None.

NBA Free Pick: Orlando -9.5 (UNDER)