NBA: Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Pick & Prediction

Derek Mountain Sports Betting Expert

8 minute read

On ESPN, NBA fans can tune in to what should be an intriguing matchup between two of the more entertaining young squads in the Association in the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Updated on 7/30/25

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The Pistons have been arguably the league’s most surprising team as they are currently slotted in the five-seed in the Eastern Conference, standing at 42-33. Cade Cunningham is currently the second-favorite to win the NBA’s Most Improved award as he was selected to his first All-Star game this season.

On the other end, the Oklahoma City Thunder are chasing history as they stand at a ridiculous 63-12 going into this one.

Because of this, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA overall and against the spread, covering an astounding 66.7% of their matchups thus far. Check out our prediction below on what you can expect in this one.

The Pistons will be playing their first game after their recent scrum against the Minnesota Timberwolves this past Sunday night.

In the aftermath of this, the Pistons will be down three rotational pieces tonight: Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, and Ron Holland II. Although none of these guys are huge losses, they are each integral as rotational guys, and a good part of Detroit’s depth will be gone against the NBA’s deepest team.

The most significant loss of the three is clearly Stewart. Without him, the Pistons will be at a severe disadvantage in the frontcourt. Not only is the dropoff from Stewart to most likely Paul Reed a massive blow for their backup minutes, but Jalen Duren, who has had a really productive year three, often finds himself into early foul trouble, and that may be the case against the likes of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren.

This will be the Thunder’s fourth home game in a row, where they won their previous three by an average of 23.3 points per game, each of which was against potential playoff squads. With the Thunder chasing NBA history in combination with the Pistons’ depleted bench, I expect the Thunder to roll in this spot. 

PICK: THUNDER -13.5

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Derek Mountain

Derek Mountain works in the Boston area as an SEO Performance Associate for Better Collective. Derek is a recent graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA where he played football for five years as well as walking on the basketball team his freshman year. Derek has experience writing and editing casino content for nearly four years. More from Derek Mountain