Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons Prediction, NBA Odds
The Bulls travel to the Motor City after claiming their first victory of the season on Friday night while knocking off the Toronto Raptors by a narrow 104-103 margin, and have also earned the W in nine of their past 12 road contests. The Pistons get set for their home opener after topping Charlotte 111-99 on Friday to claim their first win of the campaign. Detroit has nowhere to go but up this season after finishing dead last in the NBA the previous campaign while recording just nine outright wins on home court.
The Bulls arrive in Detroit perched as slim 1.5-point favourites on the Saturday NBA odds. The Pistons trail as strong -105 moneyline underdogs, -115 odds favour the total going OVER 215.5.
Bulls vs. Pistons NBA Betting Odds
Saturday night’s matchup at Little Caesars Arena marks the first of four scheduled regular-season meetings between these long-time rivals and the first of two clashes over the next two weeks. The Bulls have recorded eight wins in Detroit during their current 15-0 run versus the Pistons, with four of those victories coming by double-digit margins.
However, the Pistons kept it close while dropping a 117-115 decision when they last hosted Chicago back on March 1. Low scoring has been commonplace in recent matchups between these teams in Detroit, with the UNDER going 7-1 and the Pistons failing to reach 100 points on four occasions.
Chicago Bulls
DeMar DeRozan rose to the occasion against his former Toronto Raptors teammates on Friday night, dropping a game-high 33 points to lead the Bulls to a 104-103 victory. Already burdened with the responsibility to carry this team after it was confirmed that Lonzo Ball would miss the entire season due to a knee injury, DeRozan may also have to make do without Zach Lavine, whose status for Saturday is uncertain due to a nagging back injury that limited him to just eight points on Friday, and just 25 minutes of action in the club’s season-opening 125-104 loss to Oklahoma City.
If Levine is unable to go, the door could open to another big assignment for Alex Caruso, who scored 13 points while seeing 32 minutes of action oin Friday. Caruso averaged just 5.6 points while seeing an average of just 23.5 minutes of action last season, but has scored in the double-digits in three of his past six when playing at least 30 minutes.
Detroit Pistons
In addition to their current swoon versus Chicago, the Pistons have plenty of work to do to rewrite a losing narrative on home court, where they have lost 25 of 30 since early December 2022. The Pistons fell to defeat by an average margin 13.6 points while losing their final five home dates last season, and with the Bulls awaiting them, things get no easier in Saturday’s home opener.
There have been some positives in the early going, however. The Pistons bench proved to be the difference in Friday’s win, dropping 58 points, led by veteran Alec Burks, who was tops on the team with 24 points. Teen big man Jalen Duren remained a dominant fixture under the bucket, while recording 17 rebounds and 14 points, and has picked up 31 total boards through two outings.
Could the streak finally end on Saturday night?