Pistons vs. Celtics Prediction and Odds for December 12: Tatum, Cunningham Meet for the Third Time in 2024-25

The Detroit Pistons (10-15) will take the court against the Boston Celtics (19-5) in an Eastern Conference matchup on Thursday.

The NBA’s return to normal play following the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal sees the defending champions take on a young Pistons team that seems to finally be in the process of becoming a competitive team after years of embarrassing struggles.

Here, we will break down the betting odds and share our favorite Pistons vs. Celtics picks.

Pistons vs. Celtics Betting Odds for Thursday, December 12

The Pistons are 12-12-1 (50 percent) against the spread, 8-5-1 (61.5 percent) ATS on the road, and 10-7-1 (58.8 percent) ATS as an underdog.

The Celtics are 9-15 (37.5 percent) ATS, 4-9 (30.8 percent) ATS at home, and 9-14 (39.1 percent) ATS as a favorite.

The following odds for the Pistons vs. Celtics game are courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Head over to BetMGM to place your bets and claim up to $1,500 in bonus bets* with our promo code WSNSPORTS.

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Pistons vs. Celtics Prediction

Detroit Pistons Preview

There were plenty of reasons to make fun of the Pistons in years past. Poor roster construction, a failure to land the right head coach, and a general lack of direction plagued the organization and caused it to be the worst in the sport, winning an average of 18.8 games per season over the last five years.

A little less than one-third of the way into the 2024-25 campaign, the Pistons are on pace to produce their best record since 2018-19, when they went 41-41.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff in his first year with the team found a way to improve young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey while also integrating a new crop of veteran free agents, headlined by Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris.  

Detroit ranks 15th in defensive and 22nd in offensive rating, leading to a net rating of -2.5 (19th). Although they are 6-8 on the road, their net rating rose to +0.3 (13th) outside of their building largely due to better defense.

The Pistons turn the ball over more than every team in the league bar the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, but they are fifth in rebound percentage. They’re also right about league-average at 36.3 percent from beyond the arc, though they allowed their opponents to shoot 37.5 percent from deep (28th).

The Pistons already played the Celtics twice this year, losing by six on Oct. 26 and by 10 on Dec. 4. Cunningham and Harris both went for 27 while Beasley had 23 off the bench, but the C’s made 21 threes on 39.6 percent shooting in the recent matchup.

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Boston Celtics Preview

Boston’s title defense is off to a strong start with the champs winning nearly four games for every loss, putting them on pace to go 65-17.

Joe Mazzulla imparted onto his team the philosophy of taking as many threes as possible while maintaining crisp ball movement and exploiting mismatches. The result is the team’s 120.2 offensive rating, tied with the New York Knicks for second and only 0.2 points behind the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

To no surprise, the Celtics make a league-leading 19 threes per game, 2.3 ahead of the second-place Chicago Bulls. They also hold their opponents to 35.8 percent from deep (11th), giving them a strong mathematical advantage on the perimeter.

Boston leads the league in points per isolation possession and points per possession involving a spot-up, which is a testament to their ability to create as individuals or to find the open man after causing opposing defenses to get into rotation.

The C’s are also 10th in defense rating, resulting in them having the third-best net rating (+9.3) in the sport.

While this team concedes very few points off of turnovers, it is also 25th in points scored off of turnovers. That could prove to be a missed opportunity against a careless Detroit team.

Jayson Tatum scored 37 points in the first meeting between the teams but did not play in their most recent matchup and only produced 17 points on 28.6 percent shooting in his last game. Kristaps Porzingis, meanwhile, averaged 20.6 points and 7.8 rebounds since he returned to the lineup five games ago.

Pistons vs. Celtics Betting Pick

• Pistons vs. Celtics pick: Pistons +12.5 (-110) at BetMGM

The Pistons have a level of familiarity with the Celtics and have been successful against the spread, while the Celtics have not been a profitable team from a betting perspective.

That said, the C’s have Porzingis back in the lineup, and they should be able to pair him with Tatum and the rest of their stars for the first time this season in a matchup with Detroit.

Both teams will be well-rested because of the time off for the In-Season Tournament. We aren’t putting the Celtics on upset watch, but we expect the Pistons to give a strong effort on Thursday night.

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How to Watch Pistons vs. Celtics on 12/12/24

• When: Thursday, Dec. 12 @ 7:30 p.m. ET

• Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

• TV: NBA TV

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