For one game, the Detroit Pistons had the public’s faith.
It was Thursday, and they were playing a Utah Jazz team down several key players on the second night of a road back-to-back. The Pistons were favored to win and snap their franchise-record losing streak at 24 games. And bettors believed they would, siding with Detroit for the first time in a long time. The Pistons fumbled that trust.
“Bettors have been betting against [Detroit] probably ahead of the last nine games, and the money’s been probably anywhere between three to eight times as much on the opponent as on them,” DraftKings director of sports and race operations Johnny Avello told FTW a day after Detroit’s 25th straight loss. “Yesterday, they actually bet on them. The spread went from Jazz -1.5 to the Pistons -2. So the Pistons were actually the favorite on the spread and we actually won money. The public played them. I guess they thought it was a good spot, but not sure how long they’re going to stay on.”
Detroit’s next two games will be a good test of if the public has any faith left. The Pistons play at the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, and then host the Nets the following game on Tuesday. The first of those games is another great opportunity for Detroit to snap the streak because Brooklyn is on short rest after playing the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Tuesday will be another solid opportunity, getting to play the same team at home.
If the Pistons drop both games, their streak will reach 27 games and set the record for the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history. It doesn’t look good. They’re currently 9.5-point underdogs for Saturday’s game, with +310 odds on the moneyline.
“If [bettors] think it’s the right number and they’ve got a chance to stay within the spread, they’re gonna get played,” Avello said. “As far as winning the game straight up, I’m not sure how many people are going to bet moneyline. I just don’t know if that’s a wise play at this point.”
Because of how lopsided so many of the games have been, betting Detroit against the spread has become increasingly tempting as the streak has continued. The Pistons are losing by an average of 14 points over their last 25 games. It hasn’t been profitable, though. They’re just 7-18 ATS in that span.
“We’re constantly raising the points even higher because their power rating has become weak. But the players are still playing them on the point spread. Not on the moneyline,” Avello said, calling it a mixed bag of bets for and against Detroit on the spread.
There’s one area the public hasn’t completely soured on the Pistons, though. Not yet, at least. The Pistons still have the public’s trust when it comes to the eye-popping season win total future at DraftKings, which sets their over/under at 9.5 wins. Avello said bettors have been taking the over, which has -700 odds today.
That’s going to change soon if the streak doesn’t.
