The Detroit Pistons are hoping for a better result in their second meeting of the season with the Miami Heat on Friday at American Airlines Arena (7:30 pm ET, FOX Sports Detroit, Sun Sports). When the teams last met in early December, the Heat were quickening their pace, running over opponents at will. And that’s exactly what they did to Detroit, beating the Pistons 97-72. Miami easily cashed in as home favorite by 11.5 points and the score was under the 191.5 total. But the Pistons will face a Miami team that finds itself in the midst of one of the most challenging points of its schedule, as the Heat play four games in five nights. Friday’s date with the Pistons will be the second of those games after Miami faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Head to head, Miami is 6-4 SU in the last 10 meetings, 6-1 SU in the last seven meetings, and has dominated against the spread at 8-1 ATS in the last nine. The total has remained low in 16 of the last 23 matchups and nine of the last dozen in Miami. In addition to the rigors of a tag schedule, Miami (31-13 SU, 20-23-1 ATS) is also struggling with injuries, specifically with two of its “Big Three.” Chris Bosh has been out nearly two weeks with a sprained ankle and Dwayne Wade is listed as day-to-day with an illness. In their last game, Detroit (17-29 SU, 26-20 ATS) lost 109-100 to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, failing to cover as a 1.5-point home underdog. The score exceeded the total of 204.