The Detroit Pistons face elimination on Friday when they face the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If the Celtics come out victorious, they’ll face the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. Check out top trends, news and notes below and get live odds from sportsbook Bodog.
BOSTON (77 – 24) at DETROIT (69 – 29)
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 0-7 ATS (-7.7 Units) in road games when leading in a playoff series this season.
DETROIT is 57-41 ATS (+11.9 Units) in all games this season.
DETROIT is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) when the total is between 170 and 179.5 points this season.
DETROIT is 46-31 ATS (+11.9 Units) as a favorite this season.
DETROIT is 31-18 ATS (+11.2 Units) in home games this season.
DETROIT is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 29-18 ATS (+9.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 60-40 ATS (+16.0 Units) in all games this season.
BOSTON is 47-32 ATS (+11.8 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 29-20 ATS (+7.0 Units) in road games this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 8-7 against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 10-5 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
11 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON vs. DETROIT
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Detroit
Boston is 6-16 SU in its last 22 games when playing Detroit
Detroit is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
Detroit is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Boston
NBA SHORT SHEET
Eastern Conference Finals
Game Six
Boston Leads, 3-2
Boston at Detroit, 8:35 ET
Boston:
0-7 ATS Away if leading a playoff series
11-4 Under vs. Detroit
Detroit:
14-5 ATS off road loss
13-5 ATS if total is 179.5 or less
Tips and Trends
Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons [ESPN | 8:30 PM ET]
Celtics: Boston used a dominating 42-25 rebounding advantage again to win Game 5, and it also helped that the team got its best offensive production from the "Big Three" in the entire playoffs so far. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for 78 points on 25-of-43 shooting from the field (58 percent). The rest of the Celtics made just 12-of-30 shots (40 percent). Pierce had challenged his teammates about this rare opportunity to play in the NBA Finals beforehand, and the stars certainly stepped up. "It has to come from all of us, but definitely your All-Stars have to step up, meaning me, Kevin (Garnett), and Ray (Allen)," Pierce said. "We have to play better basketball, but it’s a combination of all of us, from one all the way down to 12. There is definitely a lot of pressure, but, hey, we’re more than capable."
Road team is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
Celtics are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Celtics are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games.
Key Injuries – NONE
Pistons (-6, O/U 175.5): As mentioned earlier, Detroit was dominated on the boards, but this definitely isn’t the first time. In fact, the Pistons were outrebounded in all three regular-season meetings and have not had the edge in any game in the Eastern Conference Finals either. "Defensively, we’ve done some things with extending our defense and tilting our defense, so we were leaving some people on the weak side of rebounds (free)," Detroit head coach Flip Saunders said. "That opened up some rebound opportunities for Boston." Still, the Pistons have found ways to beat the Celtics twice and can force a Game 7 with another home win. "We’re going to come out and we’re going to fight and we’re going to scratch and we’re going to claw and do the things that we’ve been known to do and try to get back here for Game 7," Detroit’s Chauncey Billups said.
Pistons are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 home games.
Pistons are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. Atlantic Division.
The UNDER is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
Key Injuries – G Richard Hamilton (17.3 ppg; elbow) is questionable.