We began our Game 1 preview in the Milwaukee\/Detroit series by pointing out that the Bucks have flat out dominated the Pistons this season. During the regular season the teams played four times with the Bucks going 4-0 SU\/3-0-1 ATS. Three of the four wins came by double digit margins of 10, 24 and 23 points with both 20+ point margins coming at home. Pistons all but backed into the playoffs as a betting proposition going 1-5 ATS overall in their last 7 games as well as 1-5 SU in their last 6 road games. They’ve covered only 1 of the last 6 meetings against the Bucks and are on a 3-7-1 ATS run at Milwaukee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As bad as the Pistons have been against the Bucks season their performance in Game 1 was even worse. With Blake Griffin unable to play the Pistons were easy pickings for the team with the NBA’s best record. Milwaukee opened up a 70-43 halftime lead before coasting home with a 121-86 decision. For those of you scoring at home, that’s a 35 point margin. Milwaukee held Detroit to 38% from the field and 29.6% from three point range. The Pistons were credible on the boards with Milwaukee holding a 61-55 rebounding edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detroit may have not reached their nadir. There are multiple reports suggesting that Blake Griffin and his 24.5 PPG will miss the entire first round series with Milwaukee. That status sounds more hopeful than it really is since the Pistons are highly unlikely to have another series. The current NBA basketball odds<\/a> have the Bucks a lopsided -15000 choice to win this series. The official NBA injury report lists Griffin as ‘out indefinitely’. A source close to the team suggests that there is a ‘slim chance’ he’ll play this weekend. Head coach Dwane Casey wouldn’t confirm that Griffin was out instead giving this vague statement: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need all hands on deck. He wants to play. So when his body says he\u2019s ready, whether it\u2019s Wednesday night or Saturday (for Game 3), whenever it is, he\u2019ll be available.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As if the Pistons needed anything else working against them they entered Game One with the boneheaded strategy of ‘roughing up’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. That strategy was so effective that Antetokounmpo had 14 points and 10 boards in the first half and 24 points and 17 boards for the game. The contest was so non-competitive that Antetokounmpo played only 24 minutes. If your opponent is able to sit their best player for an entire half and win by 35 points it should be evident that your team is on the wrong side of a brutal mismatch. Andre Drummond got the boot for shoving Antetokounmpo in the third quarter. It might have been a net positive for the Pistons since at the time of his ejection Drummond had a -45 in the plus\/minus category–that’s the lowest in NBA playoff history or at least since 2001 when the statistic came into use. Making this fiasco even worse–the last thing you want to do with a superior opponent is to ‘make it personal’. Detroit may have done that with their Game One roughhousing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The line has ticked up by one point but based on the result of Game One and the Blake Griffin status that’s very reasonable. This series looked like a mismatch even under the assumption that Griffin would play. Now that is looking less likely the disparity between these teams is even more pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n