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EspañolThe Cleveland Cavaliers (37-23) travel to Little Caesars Arena tonight for a battle against the league-leading Detroit Pistons (43-14).
The Pistons lead the season series against the Cavs having won two of the first three games. Each team sits Top 4 in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons sit atop the East by 5.5 games over the Celtics while the Cavs are making noise, sitting in fourth, 7.5 games behind Detroit.
The storyline for tonight’s matchup is heavily influenced by a significant injury report for the Cavaliers, who are facing a severely shorthanded backcourt. Star guard Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out with a groin strain, while recent acquisitions James Harden (thumb) and Keon Ellis (finger) are listed with injuries alongside Dennis Schröder and Dean Wade. Cleveland will rely heavily on their strong frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to dominate the paint and control the glass, while requiring secondary scoring from a depleted bench to compete with Detroit.
Detroit, which has won six of its last seven games and eight of their last ten, takes the court far healthier than the Cavs with only Isaiah Stewart (suspension) sidelined. The Pistons' balanced, high-intensity team relies on stellar defense and top-tier playmaking from Cade Cunningham, who has evolved into one of the East's premier players and the dominating interior presence of Jalen Duren.
Lets take a closer look at the 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 at Pistons
- Date: Friday, February 27, 2026
- Time: 7PM EST
- Site: Little Caesars Arena
- City: Detroit, MI
- Network/Streaming: ESPN
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Game Odds: Cavaliers at Pistons
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Cleveland Cavaliers (+200), Detroit Pistons (-245)
- Spread: Pistons -6.5
- Total: 227.5 points
This game opened Pistons -7.5 with the Total set at 224.5.
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 at Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers
- PG James Harden
- SG Sam Merrill
- SF Dean Wade
- PF Evan Mobley
- C Jarrett Allen
Detroit Pistons
- PG Cade Cunningham
- SG Ausar Thompson
- SF Tobias Harris
- PF Duncan Robinson
- C Jalen Duren
Injury Report: Cavaliers at Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers
- James Harden (thumb) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
- Dennis Schroeder (ankle) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
- Dean Wade (ankle) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
- Keon Ellis (finger) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
- Donovan Mitchell (groin) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Max Strus (foot)has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
Detroit Pistons
- Isaiah Stewart (suspended) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: Cavaliers at Pistons
- The Pistons are 22-7 at home this season
- The Cavaliers are 17-12 on the road this season
- The Pistons are 31-25-1 ATS this season / 14-15 at home
- The Cavaliers are 25-35 ATS this season / 13-16 on the road
- The OVER has cashed in 29 of the Cavaliers’ 60 games this season (29-31)
- The OVER has cashed in 25 of the Pistons’ 57 games this season (25-32)
- Each of these teams have won 8 of their last 10 games
- Detroit has won 2 of the last 3 against Cleveland and has covered the spread in 3 of the last 4 against the Cavs
- Jalen Duren has recorded double-doubles in each of his last 3 games (26.7ppg, 14reb/gm)
- James Harden is averaging 8 assists per game since being traded to the Cavs
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 tonight’s Cavaliers and Pistons’ game:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Pistons -5.5 ATS
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 226.5
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!
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