Detroit Pistons vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/21/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Detroit Pistons vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans (10-35) will attempt to beat the Detroit Pistons (31-10) on Wednesday.

The Pistons faced the Celtics and walked away with a win by a score of 104-103 in their last contest. Detroit ended the game having earned a 43.2% field goal percentage (38 of 88) and made 11 of their 35 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Pistons knocked down 17 of 23 shots for a rate of 73.9%. When talking about rebounding, they compiled 40 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 22 assists in this game as well as forcing 24 turnovers and getting 18 steals. With regard to defending, Detroit allowed their opponent to shoot 39.8% from the field on 33 out of 83 shooting. Boston distributed 24 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Boston grabbed 46 rebounds (12 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 5 rejections. Boston finished the game at 80.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 24 of 30 tries. They knocked down 13 out of their 41 shots from distance. When it comes to personal fouls, the Pistons finished with 14 while the Celtics recorded 22 personal fouls.

Tobias Harris is someone who had an impact for this contest. Harris walked away from this one shooting 55.0% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He saw the court for 35 minutes and snagged 3 boards. He finished with 25 points on 11 of 20 shooting.

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Detroit comes into this matchup with a mark of 31-10 this year. They have an average of 117.3 points per outing (11th in basketball) while shooting 47.9% from the floor. The Pistons are shooting 35.2% on three-point attempts (459 of 1,304) and 74.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Detroit is grabbing 46.3 boards per game and is sitting with 1,095 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 20th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 22.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Pistons are forcing their opponents into 17.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 22.4 fouls. They give up 34.9% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 3rd in the NBA in points per game allowed (110.1). The Pistons defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.9% (1,533 of 3,490) and they relinquish 41.2 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 1st in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 935 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Pelicans took a defeat with a final score of 119-110 when they played the Rockets. The Pelicans were able to corral 39 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 48 for the matchup. They turned it over 15 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Rockets earned 15 fouls for the matchup which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for 15 attempts. They were able to make 12 of those for a percentage of 80.0%. In regard to 3-point shots, New Orleans converted 10 of 26 tries (38.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pelicans ended up going 44 for 88 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0%. The Pelicans allowed the Rockets to make 45 of 90 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% for this contest. They finished the game shooting 36.1% from distance by connecting on 13 of 36 and ended up shooting 16 out of 22 at the free throw line (72.7%). When it comes to how they rebounded, New Orleans permitted Houston to collect 43 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

Trey Murphy III ended up having an impact for the Pelicans for this game. Murphy had 21 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 assists for the contest. He made 7 out of 15 in the game for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and had 3 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 10-35 this year. The Pelicans commit 20.0 fouls per game and they go 78.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 24.8 times per contest (25th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.6 times per contest. New Orleans has accounted for 5,171 pts on the season (114.9 per game) and they average 43.3 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are shooting 46.5% from the floor, which is 19th in basketball.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 28th in the league in points given up per game with 122.2. They are able to force 14.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 48.7% from the field (26th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense gives up 36.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (666 of 1,848) and their opposition makes 78.1% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 28.9 assists and 45.2 total rebounds per game, ranking them 29th and 23rd in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Detroit

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