The Golden State Warriors will be gunning for a road sweep when they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Friday. Golden State has won five straight, but will be without Stephen Curry in a nationally televised matchup at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN). The Warriors are 5.5-point road favorites.
The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 212.5, down from the open of 213.
Before picking either side of the spread, you need to read what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say. This model would have won over 96 percent of CBS Sports office pools in football last season and has put together a blistering 33-18 run on its top-rated NBA point-spread picks this season, returning nearly $1,400 to $100 bettors.
After simulating the game 10,000 times, the model has examined every matchup, every player and every trend in Warriors-Pistons and locked in against-the-spread, Over-Under picks, and money line picks. You can only see them over at SportsLine.
We can tell you that the computer has Under hitting in 61 percent of simulations. It also has a very strong pick for one side of the spread.
The defending NBA champion Warriors are 20-6 and have won their last four games by 21 points (at Orlando), 28 (at Miami), 10 (at New Orleans) and 14 (at Charlotte).
But Curry sprained his ankle in Monday's win over the Pelicans and left the arena on crutches. He's expected to miss at least two weeks. Curry led the team in scoring (26.3 points per game), and his plus/minus of 11.5 ranks second in the NBA.
Despite losing Curry, the Warriors still have Kevin Durant (25.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game), Klay Thompson (20.6 ppg) and Draymond Green (10.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 7.1 apg).
The 14-10 Pistons, meanwhile, are currently mired in a four-game losing streak, including Wednesday's 104-100 defeat to the Bucks. Leading scorer Tobias Harris poured in 21 points, five rebounds and three steals in Milwaukee.
Detroit had been on a three-game winning streak before its recent skid, having racked up impressive victories in Boston and Oklahoma City. The Pistons have lost their last three by a combined total of 12 points.
Does a new streak begin tonight for the Pistons or will Golden State continue its own road win streak without its MVP leader? SportsLine Projection Model's picks are in.
So what side of Warriors-Pistons do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Warriors-Hornets, all from the model that has absolutely crushed the NFL and is 33-18 in NBA, and find out.
