Thunder vs. Pistons prediction: NBA Saturday player props, picks, odds, best bets

As the boxing cliche says, styles make fights.However, we can also apply that to all sports — and we are about to hear this sports cliche next week with NCAA Tournament breakdowns.

Specific matchups will often dictate how far a team can advance. The same philosophy applies to proposition bets.A player can thrive or struggle based on a certain opponent.

That can range from a team’s overall defensive strategy or a player’s individual matchup. And I believe we have a classic case with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.I initially considered playing Under the total, based on certain advanced stats, but I think the better play is a prop involving Jalen Duren. The Detroit big man has cashed Under 2.5 assists in nine of his past 10 games.

I do not see why that stops. The Pistons rank second in points per game via the fast break, which figures to be a main priority because they will want to generate scoring before the league’s top-ranked defense can set up.That game script does not lend itself to Duren accumulating assists. In the half-court, the Thunder have a credible defensive center in Isaiah Hartenstein who will not need double-team assistance.

In theory, a double-team would increase the chances of a Duren assist because he would pass to an open shooter.But that is not applicable — and one of the reasons the Thunder rank first in opponent 3-point shooting percentage.

They rotate well but also play great individual defense. When the Thunder face a center who rarely roams outside the paint on offense, OKC limits his passing.Thus, I ignore recent opponents with starting centers who can thrive on the perimeter, such as Al Horford, Nikola Jokic, Day’Ron Sharpe and Naz Reid. Nevertheless, the static centers did not register many assists: Donovan Clingan (2 in four games), Zach Edey (0 in two games), Bismack Biyombo (2), Onyeka Okongwu (3 in two games) and Walker Kessler (2 in three games). So, the combination of Dure...