Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers March 4 Betting Preview

One of the best teams in the Eastern Conference will take on the worst team in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night, as the Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Detroit Pistons. At 39-26, the Cavs are currently sitting in fourth place in the East, while the Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 15-48.

We will now give you a brief preview of each team, and then we’ll give you our best betting advice on this Eastern Conference affair.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland decided in the offseason to make a run at the Eastern Conference title. They made a huge trade with the Utah Jazz, sending out Colin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and numerous high draft picks to obtain Donovan Mitchell. By pairing Mitchell with perennial All Star Darius Garland, along with young up-and-comers Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Cavs created a team that could be trouble for the rest of the East.

While you would think that this group of players would be putting up points in bunches, that hasn’t been the case this season. The Cavs offense is only the 26th-best unit in the league, scoring nearly 112 points per game. However, the Cavs, who in recent years haven’t been known for their defensive prowess, have become the best defense in the league. 

Cleveland is giving up just over 106 points per game, which is the least amount of points allowed in the league. Even with the acquisition of Mitchell, who is known as a poor defender, hasn’t affected the Cavs defense. With Allen and Mobley patrolling the paint, the Cavs have made their opposition take their games to the perimeter.

Detroit Pistons

While the Pistons are young and are trying to build their team into a contender, they still have a ways to go. The injury to Cade Cunningham, which ended his season, hasn’t helped the building process. Just 1-9 in their last 10, and losers of six in a row, things aren’t going well for the Pistons right now.

With the 27th-best offense and 29th-best defense in the league, there doesn’t seem to be much going right in Detroit. Jaden Ivey has had a very good rookie season, and some of Detroit’s other young pieces have made progress, but not having Cunningham has really hurt the Pistons’ progress.

Betting Prediction

While we think the Cavaliers will win the game, we’re going to dive into the betting numbers. Cleveland heads into this one as 16 favorites. In looking at the numbers, they don’t seem to sway us one way or the other.

Cleveland is 34-29-2 against the spread this season. Cleveland has only played in two games where they have been favored by more than 11 points this season. In those games, they are 1-1 against the spread. In their 11 games where they’re 11.5 points or greater underdogs, the Pistons are 5-6.

With the way the Pistons are playing right now, we’re going to lean towards taking the Cavs.