Indiana Pacers vs Detroit Pistons Prediction NBA Picks 10/23/24

The Indiana Pacers are coming into this season with plenty of optimism after they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before getting swept by the eventual champions. The Pacers didn’t make too much noise in the offseason in terms of roster moves except for James Wiseman who they signed as a free agent. The Pacers were good enough to get 47 wins in the regular season despite constantly dealing with injuries, but now they will have a full season with Pascal Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin, so the only way is up for this young squad. The Pacers will meet the Knicks and 76ers after this one.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons just endured their worst season in franchise history as they finished with just 14 wins and the new record for the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history at 28 games. Cade Cunningham was clearly the best player for the Pistons, but he only played 20 games while Jalen Duren missed a total of 61 games. In terms of player moves, the Pistons re-signed Cunningham and they added Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Tobias Harris while assigning JB Bickerstaff as the new coach. This will surely be another rebuilding year for this squad, but surely they can at least get closer to the 20-win mark this season if they can stay healthy. The Pistons will face the Cavs following this game.

It’s always tough to pick games early in the season, but just looking at the lineups, the advantage clearly goes to the Pacers who are coming into this season with the same lineup, while the Pistons will be working a bunch of new players into their rotation. This matchup has been pretty one-sided with the Pacers winning all four meetings last season and I would be surprised if that trend doesn’t continue in this game. The line is short enough for this one, so I am going with the more reliable Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers to take care of business with a win and cover on the road.