The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons meet in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference after seven game series in the first round. Cleveland beat Toronto after up 2-0 then tied 2-2, while Detroit beat Orlando after being down 3-1.
Detroit is the No. 1 seed and had the No. 1 net rated defense in the first round. The Pistons’ main struggles were on offense. Detroit had a high turnover percentage (17.2%, 14th out of 16) and struggled with three-point shooting (32.7%, 12th). The Pistons went 3-1 at home versus the Magic in the first round and won three straight.
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The home team went 7-0 in the Cleveland and Toronto series, which should give Detroit hope. The Cavaliers shot 27.8% from three (14th), 41.4% from the field (11th), and turned the ball over 19.3 times per game (15th) as the road team in the first round. Cleveland has lost four straight playoff road games.
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 5, 2026
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Site: Little Caesars Arena
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Network/Streaming: NBC Sports / Peacock
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Game Odds: Cavaliers vs. Pistons
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
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Moneyline: Detroit Pistons (-148), Cleveland Cavaliers (+124)
This game opened Pistons -3.5 with the Total set at 214.5.
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
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Detroit Pistons
Injury Report: Pistons vs. Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Important stats, trends and insights: Pistons vs. Magic
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Detroit is 47-42 ATS and 19-20 ATS as the home favorite
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Detroit is 47-41-1 to the Under
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Detroit is 23-21 to the Under at home
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Detroit is 20-19 to the Under as a home favorite
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Detroit is 23-21 ATS as the home team
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Cleveland is 36-53 ATS, ranking second-worst
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Cleveland is 17-27 ATS as the road team, ranking second-worst
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Cleveland is 8-5 ATS as the road underdog, ranking fifth-worst
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Cleveland is 45-44 to the Over
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Cleveland is 25-19 to the Over as the road team, ranking fifth-best
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Cleveland is 7-6 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.
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday’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 UNDER 202.5
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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