Oklahoma City Thunder vs Detroit Pistons Prediction, 4/16/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Detroit Pistons

Date: Friday, April 16, 2021

Location: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI

TV: Bally Sports Detroit

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+7.5)

Little Caesars Arena is the venue where and the Detroit Pistons (16-39) will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-35) on Friday. Oklahoma City opens this contest as 7.5-point underdogs. The total has been set at 215.5.

The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Golden State Warriors and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 147-109 in their last game. Oklahoma City wrapped up the contest with a 47.8% FG percentage (44 of 92) and converted 7 out of their 27 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Thunder made 14 of their 25 tries for a rate of 56.0%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they collected 50 with 17 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 22 dimes in this game as well as creating 14 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With respect to the defense, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 54.7% from the floor on 52 of 95 shooting. Golden State doled out 39 dimes and had 12 steals for the game. On top of that, Golden State pulled down 41 rebounds (9 offensive, 32 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. Golden State finished the game at 82.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 19 of their 23 shots. They also converted 24 of their 47 tries from beyond the arc.

Darius Bazley is someone who came through in this game. He was able to score 22 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He played 28:20 mins and collected 8 rebounds. Bazley finished the contest at 55.6% from the field and recorded 1 assist. Another guy that was a major contributor in the game for the Thunder was Moses Brown. He collected 12 rebounds in 28:03 minutes on the court. He walked away from this one shooting 61.5% from the field in this contest by shooting 8-of-13 (18 points). In all, Brown wasn't able to get a dime.

Oklahoma City enters this game with a mark of 20-35 so far this season. They turn it over 15.6 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Oklahoma City is pulling in 45.1 rebounds per contest and has tallied 1,229 dimes on the year, which is 27th in the league in terms of passing. The Thunder are connecting on 34.8% on shots from distance (689 of 1,978) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 105.3 points per contest (28th in the league) while connecting on 44.5% from the field. On defense, the Thunder have forced 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 fouls. They are surrendering 35.8% on three-point shots while they are 24th in the league in PPG allowed (114.3). The Thunder defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 47.0% (701 of 1,005) and they relinquish 47.1 boards per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 22nd in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,393 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the Detroit Pistons took a defeat with a final score of 100-98 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons earned 35 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 46 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 16 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. The Clippers were called for 20 fouls for this game which got the Pistons to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to convert 17 of them for a rate of 77.3%. When discussing shooting from downtown, Detroit made 7 out of their 24 attempts (29.2%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pistons walked away from this one shooting 37 out of 85 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.5%. The Pistons allowed the Clippers to convert 37 of 93 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 39.8% in the matchup. They finished the game shooting 24.1% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 7 out of 29 and ended up shooting 19 out of 21 from the free throw line (90.5%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Detroit permitted Los Angeles to collect 47 in total (15 offensive).

Jerami Grant ended up being a factor for the Pistons in this game. He made 10 out of 21 in this matchup for a rate of 47.6%, and had 3 rebounds. Grant recorded 28 points in his 35:38 mins on the court and accumulated 2 dimes in this game. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Detroit was Saddiq Bey. He wrapped the game up with no assists in his 35:19 mins on the court, and he shot 6 out of 11 from the floor. Bey finished going 54.5% from the floor while collecting 17 points and 5 total rebounds.

Detroit has a win-loss record of 16-39 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Pistons are shooting 44.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 25th in the NBA. Detroit has scored 5,921 points for the year (107.7 per contest) and they pull in 42.3 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 24.5 times per contest (16th in the NBA) and they cough up possession 14.6 times per contest. The Pistons have committed 20.6 fouls every game and they connect on 77.4% from the charity stripe. The Pistons on defense are ranked 14th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 111.4. The Detroit defense gives up 37.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (643 of 1,719) and opponents are connecting on 76.4% of their foul shots. They concede 24.7 dimes and 44.2 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 16th and 17th in basketball. They are forcing their opponents into 14.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.9% from the floor (26th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Detroit (-7.5)

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