Detroit Pistons (18-23) at Utah Jazz (23-21) When: 9 p.m. tonight. Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah. TV: Fox Sports Detroit. Radio: 97.1 FM (Pistons radio affiliates). • Box score Game notes Projected starting lineups: Pistons: G Reggie Jackson, G Bruce Brown, F Reggie Bullock, F Blake Griffin, C Andre Drummond. Jazz: G Royce O'Neale, G Donovan Mitchell, F Joe Ingles, F Derrick Favors, C Rudy Gobert. Smith return After missing 18 games with a right torn adductor, point guard Ish Smith is expected to return. Pistons went 5-13 during his absence. What’s the point? The Jazz are without a point guard as Ricky Rubio (hamstring), Dante Exum (ankle) and Raul Neto (groin) all are expected to miss the game. ... Mitchell has scored at least 26 points in five straight contests, starting with his 26-point game (24 in second half) to rally the Jazz past the Pistons on Jan. 5. [ Pistons midseason grades: Griffin top student, but class struggling ] [ Pistons owner Tom Gores believes in team's 'process' ] Twitter updates Live updates for mobile users.<doc-sep>The Utah Jazz may be down their entire point guard corps, but you wouldn’t have guessed it by their swagger. The Jazz, winners of their last three games, are enjoying the perks of playing at home: sleeping in your own bed, some home cooking, and even blaring Africa by Toto over the load speakers at their practice facility. Life is good. Tonight they’ll be tested by Detroit to see if life can get even better. Detroit, who scored a victory in Los Angeles against the Clippers, will be looking to avenge the loss they suffered against the Utah Jazz at home just a few games ago. While Utah is down Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto at point guard, they are enjoying the success that Donovan Mitchell has brought them at point guard. Donovan Mitchell has been balling the last 5 games, averaging 30.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 blocks with shooting splits of 48/47/82. He’s been an absolute monster. The Utah Jazz could very well be getting a glimpse into their future with Donovan Mitchell being handed the reigns at the position John Stockton consecrated in Utah. While Donovan Mitchell is back to being the tip of the spear of Utah’s offensive attack, Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale are bouncing back to their 2017-2018 level of play. Royce is averaging 7.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Perennial MVP candidate and first ballot hall of famer Joe Ingles is averaging 12 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists on 40% shooting from beyond the arc. The Jazz are back to getting solid production from their 3 and D players. With the Pistons, they’re a one man show despite having Andre Drummond to help along the way. Detroit’s success begins and ends with Blake Griffin. Full Stop. He’s having a career year averaging 25.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 5.3 apg with shooting splits of 48/36/76. He’s the entire engine, drivetrain, transmission, body, clutch, everything to Detroit’s muscle. Luckily for Utah, they’re not short on bodies in their frontcourt. They’ll be able to throw a relentless amount of able bodied defenders who can match Griffin in size and strength in Crowder, Favors, Udoh, and Gobert. There’s an additional carrot to tonight’s game for Utah. The Jazz have not won more than 3 games in a row all season long. With a win tonight, the Jazz would have their season’s longest winning streak with 4 games. Game Info When: 7:00 MT • Monday, January 14th, 2019 Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena · Salt Lake City, UT TV: AT&T SportsNet / NBA League Pass Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM Injuries: Ricky Rubio - Hamstring - OUT Dante Exum - Ankle - OUT Thabo Sefolosha - Hamstring - OUT Tony Bradley - Knee - OUT Raul Neto - Groin - OUT Detroit Pistons (18-23) Henry Ellison - Ankle - OUT Zaza Pachulia - Leg - Day to Day Ish Smith - Groin - Day to Day Faves vs Griffin It’s time for a good old fashioned big man rumble. Derrick Favors has been a beast this year as he continues to fend off fans’ trade machine runs and the Modern NBA trying to put a wing in his justly earned Power Forward spot. Tonight, he’ll get to match up against Blake Griffin who in a way is fighting to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving NBA spacing game. While Derrick Favors isn’t going to be burning any nets by his three point shooting, he is going to be tasked with Blake Griffin who basically is playing point forward for the Detroit Pistons. Blake can shoot it from three off the dribble (not well, but not bad either) and he’s a threat to take it rim off the dribble. It’s going to be a tough defensive assignment. Luckily for Favors, he has Gobert there to help him, but Gobert might have his hands tied dealing with Andre Drummond, one of the few big men in the NBA who can push Gobert around down low. Favors has been amazing on the defensive end and will also have to guard Drummond when Gobert is off the floor. If the Jazz win this one going away, it’ll be the result of Favors play on the defensive end. The Utah Jazz bench To say that Utah’s bench was bad last night would be an understatement. The entire Utah Jazz bench had a negative net rating against the lowly Chicago Bulls save for Kyle Korver. Jae Crowder went 1 for 13. Grayson Allen struggled in his first game back to the lineup. While it may not be fair to ask Grayson Allen to play at a high level the first game back from injury after playing most his minutes this season in G-League, it’s the freaking Chicago Bulls who you could swap with the Windy City Bulls and quite possibly win just as many games with. Utah’s bench will not be able to bring the same performance tonight against the Pistons and expect that the starting lineup will be able to save them. Donovan Mitchell cannot play 48 full minutes for Utah, neither can Gobert. Next man up applies to this entire Utah Jazz roster with all of the injuries. Utah needs their 15th, 16th, and 17th men to play big tonight to give their starters some rest so the Jazz aren’t facing a second string of injuries in February due to their starters playing heavy minutes in January.<doc-sep>DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz drives around Bruce Brown #6 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Little Caesars Arena on January 05, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Why the Detroit Pistons need to trade Reggie Why the Detroit Pistons need to trade Reggie by Ari Eizen How does Detroit Pistons’ cap situation stack up with other teams? How does Detroit Pistons’ cap situation stack up with other teams? by Christopher Reed The Detroit Pistons get the return of Ish Smith in tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz. The Pistons could move into a tie for eighth seed with a win. The Detroit Pistons ended their losing streak against the LA Clippers, and look to continue their winning ways against the Utah Jazz. Along with continuing their winning ways and moving up in the standings, there’s bigger news in this game for the Pistons. Ish Smith, who has been out since December 5th with a groin injury, is returning tonight. This is incredible news for the Pistons. In Smith’s absence, the Pistons have had to rely on the ghost of Jose Calderon to give them big minutes. In some cases, Dwane Casey gave Calderon just as many minutes as Reggie Jackson, which isn’t on Calderon but that’s for another day. When Smith was playing, he gave the Pistons a change of pace point guard who excelled at getting the most out of the bench production. Smith is also just a tad good enough for the Pistons to survive some games when Casey decided to play their backup point guard more than the starter; Calderon very clearly is not. When Smith was on the court before the injury, the Pistons were playing with a pace of 103.65. With Smith off the court, the Pistons have played with a pace of 98.22 which is good for 23rd in the NBA. The Pistons hope that Smith can return and quickly bring back the spark he gave this team earlier in the year. However, the Pistons must worry about getting revenge on their opponent tonight. Last time the Pistons played the Jazz, they had a 18 point lead after a 31 point first quarter. They held Donovan Mitchell down for the first three quarters, but allowed him to explode in the fourth quarter on his way to 26 points on 10-21 shooting. Mitchell famously blamed a fan after this game for sparking his fourth quarter explosion, saying what looked to be, “you did this!” at the fan during the game. The Pistons will need to hold Mitchell in check if they plan to beat the Jazz tonight. The Jazz, who’ve won 5 of their last seven games, are tied for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Pistons are a half game behind the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, so it’s fair to say this game means a lot for both teams. The Detroit Pistons will look to extend their winning streak to two tonight in Utah at 9:00 pm eastern time.<doc-sep>
Pistons vs. Jazz Prediction After a nice win at the Clippers this weekend, will the Detroit Pistons have it in them to upset the Utah Jazz tonight at 9PM ET? Game Snapshot & Odds 507 Detroit Pistons vs. 508 Utah Jazz Monday, January 14, 2019 9PM ET – Vivint Smart Home Arena Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new NBA Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Trends According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Jazz are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -8 points against the Pistons. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 209.5 points. The public betting for this game currently has 69 percent going on the Jazz as the home favorite. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game. Pistons end skid Detroit is coming off a 109-104 win at Los Angeles on Saturday, which snapped a four-game losing and failed cover streak. The Pistons are 18-23 overall, 7-13 on the road, 18-22-1 against the spread and 22-19 with the under. The Pistons have struggled on offense this season, scoring 106.9 points per game while shooting just 43.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from the arc. Defensively, Detroit is giving up 109.7 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 47.3 percent from the floor. The team is hopeful to get backup guard Ish Smith back today from his groin injury. Blake Griffin is leading the team with 25.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while Andre Drummond adds 16.8 points and 15.0 rebounds per contest. Jazz heating up Utah is coming off a 110-102 win over the Bulls at home on Saturday. The Jazz are on a three-game win streak and they have won five of their last six, including a 110-105 win at Detroit on Jan. 5. The Jazz are now 23-21 overall, 11-8 at home, 22-21-1 against the spread and 22-21-1 with the under. The Jazz have one of the best defenses in the NBA, holding opponents to just 105.2 points per game. Offensively, Utah is putting up just 108 points per game this season. Injuries have piled up, as guards Dante Exum and Ricky Rubio are out indefinitely while Thabo Sefolosha is also out with a groin injury. Donovan Mitchell is leading the team with 21.3 points per game. He has scored over 30 in three straight games. Rudy Gobert is averaging 14.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest. NBA Betting Trends Detroit The Pistons are 2-6 against the spread in their last eight road games and 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games when playing on 1 day of rest. Utah The Jazz are 5-0-1 against the spread in their last six games following a failed cover and 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 1 day of rest. Prediction: The Pistons had an impressive showing against the Clippers, but the team was motivated for that game. Blake Griffin wanted to make a statement at his former home and his team seemed to care to help him do it. The Pistons will have an emotional letdown tonight because there won’t be any reason to get up for the game. Utah is also a bad matchup. The Jazz have some depth and defense in the frontcourt, which will cause problems for Griffin and Drummond. Detroit’s guards can’t match what Mitchell will be able to do. NBA Prediction: Utah Jazz -8