NBA – Los Angeles at Detroit (8:05 PM ET – TNT)

Detroit employed a completely different strategy the last time these two teams

2007-02-08

Detroit employed a completely different strategy the last time these two teams met in the early part of the season in November. Playing in Los Angeles and being burned continually by Kobe Bryant over the years, the Pistons, 5.5-point underdogs, fired up a zone defense that completely throttled the Lakers in a 97-83 win. This defense has gone onto being an influential aspect of the Detroit game plan many nights. Seeing how Phil Jackson adjusts to this and other wrinkles the Pistons have used since then make more compelling viewing for NBA junkies.

For starters, Los Angeles has the opportunity to show what they have learned since that time. The Lakers are 3-2 both straight up and against the spread on this eight game road trip thus far and come in off a pair of wins. It has been widely reported this week; Kobe is showing the maturity needed to be the leader of Los Angeles since Shaquille O’Neal departed. He’s been is communication with Michael Jordan about the finer points of the mental game of basketball. Bryant also gets to renew his rivalry with Rip Hamilton of the Pistons dating back to their days in high school. Though he will not receive the accolades like Bryant, Lamar Odom is as key a player as is on the Lakers roster. His ball handling and passing skills make him a dangerous threat anywhere on the floor. He tosses in 18 points a night, snags better then 9 boards while dishing out 4.9 assists.

This will be the second of five consecutive home games for Detroit before the All- Star break. The Pistons have no longer been misfiring with 8-2 record in last ten games. (6-4 ATS) Detroit has been getting back to playing the way they are expected since Chauncey Billups returned from injury. The defense is allowing 90.9 PPG compared to season average of 93.5. Another area of improvement is from an unlikely source in Chris Webber. His presence and actual concern for the team has been a huge positive. "They've livened their team because of [the Webber acquisition]," Lakers head coach Phil Jackson admitted to the L.A. Times on Tuesday. The former Michigan star has been unselfish and has been among those making the extra pass to a more wide open team-mate. He has benefited also, shooting at 59.6% clip compared to 38.7% with Philadelphia earlier this season.

Detroit enters this TNT tilt as 4.5-point home favorites by those setting the numbers at Sportsbook.com, with a total of 194. Flip Saunders squad has been less them impressive at Auburn Hills with a 14-9 home record and a wretched 8-15 spread mark. This veteran team just does not play with the same intensity night after night and is not as good as the team that won the championship under the direction of Larry Brown. The public misconception is they still are the same type of team and oddsmakers set the numbers accordingly.

Los Angeles has demons to overcome to win in Detroit this evening. Including the champion series from almost three years ago, the Lakers have been adrift playing here with seven straight losses and being beaten soundly by an ugly 15 points a game. To their credit the circumstances are different with this team, since they are 16-6 ATS as underdogs.

Detroit is 10-2-1 ATS vs. teams with a winning record in most recent outings. While most clubs thrive on extra rest in season, the Lakers are 2-5 ATS with two or more days off this year. With just three games in the NBA tonight the Betting Trends page is worthwhile to see how others view this and the other games posted.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:05 Eastern.

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