Rockets vs Pistons

The Pistons visit the Rockets on Friday as we continue our NBA odds series with a Pistons-Rockets prediction, pick, and how to watch.

Considering Brooklyn boasts a much tougher defense than Detroit, look for Sengun to feast tonight against the Pistons. The X-factor for Houston tonight is their guard play. Houston struggles on both ends of the floor but they are borderline dominant in the paint. That starts with big man Alperen Sengun who leads the team with 8.7 RPG in addition to his 14.7 PPG. [Detroit Pistons](/nba/detroit-pistons) (16-60) visit the [Houston Rockets](/nba/houston-rockets) (18-59) on Friday night! That being said, the Rockets do roster a number of young players who could gain value based on their play down the stretch. The Pistons allowed just 114.1 PPG over that span – good for 12th in the NBA. That may be a surprise considering their record but Houston averages the fifth-most points in the paint per game. They are nearly as strong on the defensive end, allowing the 10th-fewest interior points per game. It’s been a disastrous second half for Detroit considering they hold just three wins to their name since the beginning of February. While they have had a rough stretch of games, the Rockets now return home following a five-game road trip. While they did drop the previous matchup with Houston by three, the Pistons do have a chance to cover tonight after covering each of their last two games.

Find out how to watch, live stream or TV channel and game time information for the March 31, 2023 matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Detroit ...

It is not very often that you get a late-season matchup of teams with under 20 wins that is so meaningful for both teams. As things stand, the Pistons sit ...

If that is the case the Rockets probably come out on top since all of their young players are healthy. But if you are to believe all of the reports out of Houston on team culture and the other inner-workings of the organization, they are badly in need of some more veteran leadership. Given his ability to space the floor and play out on the perimeter, I would hope the Pistons would go away from the two big lineup since neither of Marvin Bagley or James Wiseman are able to defend out on the perimeter, but I do not see that happening. Green has been impressive as a scorer, coming into this game leading the Rockets in scoring at 21.9 points per game, but it hasn’t been enough to stop the Rockets from hanging out with the Pistons at the bottom of the standings all season. We were denied the Cade Cunningham-Jalen Green showdown as both Cade and Green were out for that game. The Rockets sit at 18 wins and the 2nd worth record in the NBA.

The road trip continues for the Pistons on Friday night, as they get set to battle for last place in the NBA against the Rockets.

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Patrick’s Day, Houston is 5-11 so far in the month of March. This will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. [FuboTV (7-day free trial)](https://www.fubo.tv/stream/bally-sports/?irad=1597659&irmp=1810040&subID1=advance-mi-tk)

Poor decisions by rookie Jaden Ivey haunt Pistons in fourth quarter.

He had 18 points but was just 8-of-2 from the floor including 2-o-9 from deep. Other Pistons performances of note: Isaiah Livers played mostly well on both ends of the floor and finished wth 12 points and hit three three-pointers. But he also was inefficient and made questionable decisions as. The contest between the Rockets and the Pistons was a close, back-and-forth contest. Detroit was able to offer little resistance partly because of early foul trouble by the trio of Bagley, James Wiseman and Jalen Duren. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Visit ESPN for the game recap of the Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets NBA basketball game on March 31, 2023.

[Jabari Smith](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/793/jabari-smith) Jr. ... Leading scorer [Bojan Bogdanovic](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3593/bojan-bogdanovic) missed his 14th consecutive game due to left Achilles tendinopathy. [James Wiseman](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4432808/james-wiseman) failed to score in double figures for the first time since being acquired in a trade from Golden State. [Kevin Porter Jr](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4397140/kevin-porter-jr). [LeBron James](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebron-james) and Dwight Howard are the only players in NBA history 19 or younger with more than 16 double-doubles. Detroit took a one-point lead into the fourth, but both teams struggled to make shots. [Alperen Sengun](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4871144/alperen-sengun) had 15 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists for the Rockets. We just want to win.” So we knew Detroit was our first home game back and we definitely wanted this one to start off our home stretch.” “You don’t want to get used to losing,” Bagley said. Meanwhile, Green was 10 of 18 on field goals. It marked the first time this season Porter scored 30 or more points in consecutive games.