Rockets vs. Pistons predictions: Odds, recent stats, trends and best bets for January 23

After blowing a fourth quarter lead and losing in OT in Philadelphia last night, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets (26-16) are in the Motor City tonight to face Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons (32-10).

Durant scored 36 and Amen Thompson added 17 in the loss for the Rockets. Joel Embiid had a night for Philly scoring 32, pulling down 15 boards and handing out 10 assists.

The task is no easier tonight for the Rockets. It’s the second half of a back-to-back and the opponent are the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. They lead the conference in rebounding (46.3 per game). Cunningham, who is averaging 25.7 points and 9.8 assists, is the unquestioned leader of the Pistons but his availability is a question mark tonight (illness). Detroit owns a sparkling 17-4 record at home this season.

The Rockets sit fourth in the Western Conference. Following last night’s loss in Philly, Houston has now lost five in a row. Houston is the top rebounding team in the Western Conference (49.0/gm) led by Alperen Sengun (9.2reb/gm).

The Pistons won the first meeting of the season between these teams, 115-111 on October 24. Cunningham had 21 points and 9 assists to pace Detroit. Durant had 37 for Houston in the loss.

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 thelatest 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: Rockets at Pistons

• Date: Friday, January 23, 2026
• Time: 7PM EST
• Site: Little Caesars Arena
• City: Detroit, MI
• Network/Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

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Game Odds: Rockets at Pistons

The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: Houston Rockets (+140), Detroit Pistons (-166)
• Spread: Pistons -3.5
• Total: 216.5 points

This game opened Pistons -3.5 with the Total set at 217.5.

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: Rockets at Pistons

Houston Rockets

• PG Amen Thompson
• SG Josh Okogie
• SF Kevin Durant
• PF Jabari Smith
• C Alperen Sengun

Detroit Pistons

• PG Cade Cunningham
• SG Duncan Robinson
• SF Ausar Thompson
• PF Tobias Harris
• C Jalen Duren

Injury Report: Rockets at Pistons

Houston Rockets

• Aaron Holiday (back) is OUT for tonight’s game
• Steven Adams (ankle) is OUT for tonight’s game
• Fred VanVleet (knee) is OUT for tonight’s game

Detroit Pistons

• Cade Cunningham (illness) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
• Duncan Robinson (back) is listed as probable for tonight’s game
• Ronald Holland (back) is listed as probable for tonight’s game
• Caris LeVert (illness) is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game

Important stats, trends and insights: Rockets at Pistons

• The Pistons are 17-4 at home this season
• The Rockets are 11-13 on the road this season
• The Pistons are 22-20 ATS this season
• The Rockets are 20-22 ATS this season
• The OVER has cashed in 17 of the Pistons’ 42 games this season (17-24-1)
• The OVER has cashed in 19 of the Rockets’ 42 games this season (19-21-1)
• Reed Shepherd has hit at least three, 3-pointers in each of the Rockets’ last 4 games (15-30)
• Tobias Harris has not taken a single free throw in the Pistons’ last 3 games

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 today’s Rockets and Pistons’ game:

• Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Pistons on the Moneyline
• Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Pistons -3.5
• Total: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 216.5

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!