NBA Basketball
2026-04-12 - Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball
Sunday 12th April 2026 - Scheduled 6pm EST
11pm (British Time)
Preview
The Number 1 Seed is locked up and the Detroit Pistons (59-22) will find out the First Round opponent later in the week when the last of the Play In Tournament games are played. They have put together another strong season and will not be too concerned by whoever they have to face in a best of seven First Round Series, but there is still some motivation to win on the final day of the regular season.
Two decades have passed since the Detroit Pistons last had 60 regular season wins and beating the defending Eastern Conference Champions to do that will be fitting.
Of course it should be stated that the Indiana Pacers (19-62) are not the team that reached the NBA Finals last June- they have been banged up with injury all season and never recovered from having to be without Tyrese Haliburton for the entirety of the campaign. Only the Washington Wizards will end this season with fewer wins than the Indiana Pacers and they may struggle to remain competitive in this one if the Pistons are playing starters for any length of time.
Cade Cunningham will continue building up his strength on his return from a long layoff and the Pistons may want their best player to put a few minutes into the legs than in the previous two games. The depth of the Pistons roster is to be admired, but they can enter the post-season with a chip on their shoulders as most have tipped up the next three Seeds in the Eastern Conference as more likely to reach the NBA Finals.
Defensively the Pistons have continued to be hard to beat and that is going to be a real challenge for the Indiana Pacers with a shorthanded roster.
Making the game a little more awkward for the top Seed in the Eastern Conference is the fact that the Pacers have continued to play with some intensity on the Defensive side of the court. However, the Pacers have allowed the three pointers to exploit some gaps and they have lost four of the last five games with two of those defeats being in relatively blowout fashion.
The Pistons have won all three games against Indiana this season and two of those have been by at least 15 point margins.
A backdoor cover is possible on the final day of the regular season, especially if Detroit begin to take out key contributors, but the Pistons may just have the power to enter the First Round with a 60 win season under the belt and a big win.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road favourite.
The Pick :
Indiana Pacers 98-114 Detroit Pistons
