Pistons vs. Trail Blazers Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Monday, Dec. 22

The Pistons are road favorites on Monday night.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara is an interesting prop target on Monday. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons remain atop the Eastern Conference heading into Monday night’s matchup with the surging Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland has won three games in a row, knocking off the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night to move to 12-16 this season. The Blazers currently hold the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference as they hope to make the play-in after falling just short last season.

Detroit ranks second in the NBA in defensive rating and in the top five in the league in net rating, leading to a 22-6 start. While the New York Knicks are creeping closer in the conference standings, Detroit is favored to earn a road win in this matchup.

There’s a bunch of ways to bet on this game, and I have a player prop and a prediction to consider. 

Let’s take a look at the latest odds for this interconference battle on Monday.  

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Pistons -5.5 (-115)
• Blazers +5.5 (-105)

Moneyline

• Pistons: -238
• Blazers: +195

Total

• 234.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers How to Watch

• Date: Monday, Dec. 22
• Time: 10:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Moda Center
• How to Watch (TV): BlazerVision, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
• Pistons record: 22-6
• Blazers record: 12-16

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers Injury Reports

Pistons Injury Report

• Jalen Duren – probable
• Ron Holland II – questionable
• Isaac Jones – out
• Bobi Klintman – out
• Chaz Lanier – out
• Wendell Moore Jr. – out
• Tolu Smith – out

Blazers Injury Report

• Javonte Cooke – out
• Jerami Grant – questionable
• Jrue Holiday – out
• Scoot Henderson – out
• Damian Lillard – out
• Matisse Thybulle – out
• Blake Wesley – out

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers Best NBA Prop Bets

Blazers Best NBA Prop Bet

• Toumani Camara UNDER 3.5 Assists (-162)

Toumani Camara is averaging 2.9 assists per game this season (on 5.3 potential assists), and I’m not buying him at this number against a Detroit defense that is No. 2 in the league in defensive rating and No. 1 in opponent assists per game.

Camara has four or more dimes in four games this month, but he’s only cleared this prop nine times in 28 games overall this season. This line is way too high against this Detroit defense, even though the Blazers are down multiple guards in this matchup. 

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers Prediction and Pick

There are a couple of interesting trends to watch in this game, and I think it opens the door for the Blazers to at least cover on Monday.

First off, Portland has been great as an underdog, going 13-4 against the spread this season. The Blazers are also on a three-game winning streak, pushing them to 10th in the Western Conference and raising their net rating to 19th in the league.

That’s nowhere near the Pistons (fifth in net rating), but Detroit hasn’t exactly been great when favored on the road this season, going 4-6 against the spread. 

In addition to that, the Pistons are posting an average scoring margin of +7.5 when favored (22 games) this season, so they haven’t exactly been blowing out inferior teams in a way that you’d expect, despite a 12-3 record against under .500 squads. 

I think the Pistons are the bet to make the one the moneyline, but Portland’s penchant for covering as a dog makes it worth a look in a two-possession spread on Monday. 

Pick: Blazers +5.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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