Detroit won Game 1, 111-101, versus Cleveland to give the Pistons four-straight wins overall and at home in the playoffs. Unlike the first round, Detroit is up 1-0 in the semifinals behind an all-around team effort.
Six different players scored 11 or more points for the Pistons in Game 1, with all five starters doing so. Detroit forced 19 turnovers and only committed 11 themselves, which was the biggest storyline. The Pistons and Cavaliers shot nearly identical, but Detroit attempted 35 free throws to Cleveland’s 16. The turnover battle and free throw edge will be what to watch for in Game 2.
Can Cleveland get consistent scoring help outside of Donovan Mitchell (23) and James Harden (22)? Max Strus (19) and Evan Mobley (14) were the only other players to reach double figures for the Cavaliers. Cleveland is now 0-4 on the road in the playoffs and could use a victory in Detroit to settle the score before heading home where Cleveland is 4-0 during the playoffs. The home team in general, is 8-0 this postseason in Cleveland’s two series.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Cavaliers vs. Pistons
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Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
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Site: Little Caesars Arena
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Network/Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
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Game Odds: Cavaliers vs. Pistons
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
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Moneyline: Detroit Pistons (-162), Cleveland Cavaliers (+136)
This game opened Pistons -3.5 with the Total set at 215.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Cavaliers vs. Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Injury Report: Pistons vs. Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
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Kevin Huerter (hip) is listed as QUESTIONABLE for Game 2. He missed Game 1.
Important stats, trends and insights: Pistons vs. Magic
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Detroit is 48-42 ATS and 20-20 ATS as the home favorite
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Detroit is 48-41-1 to the Under
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Detroit is 24-21 to the Under at home
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Detroit is 21-19 to the Under as a home favorite
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Detroit is 24-21 ATS as the home team
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Cleveland is 36-54 ATS, ranking second-worst
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Cleveland is 17-28 ATS as the road team, ranking second-worst
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Cleveland is 8-6 ATS as the road underdog, ranking fifth-worst
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Cleveland is 45-45 to the Over
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Cleveland is 25-20 to the Over as the road team, ranking fifth-best
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Cleveland is 8-6 to the Under as a road underdog
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s Cavaliers and Pistons’ game:
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Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Cavaliers’ Moneyline
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Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Cavaliers +3.5 ATS
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Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 215.5
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
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Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
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