FanDuel Spreads The Love So That Even A Pistons Bet Doesn’t Seem So Bad

Even the NBA’s worst team should be able to keep it within 100 points of the league’s best. Right?!

Detroit Pistons fans and in-state sports betting fans will be banking on that Thursday night as FanDuel Sportsbook will run its first “Spread The Love” contest here in the Great Lakes State.

The promotion jacks up the point spread for bettors to a margin that even the lowly Pistons should be able to cover against LeBron James and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

How FanDuel’s ‘Spread The Love’ promo works

FanDuel sets up the contests periodically so the home teams — and home bettors — can’t lose. The contest artificially inflates the line for Thursday’s game, boosting it a point in Detroit’s favor for every 313 bets — a number Detroit fans know well.

The market started Monday afternoon with a 9.5-point margin in favor of the champs. As of Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST, it was at 116.5 points.

Who knows how high it will go?

The maximum bet is $50 and the odds are -110 (meaning you will win $45.45 on a $50 wager).

Customers will need to bet on the special Spread the Love market and not on the regular market in order to opt-in.

FanDuel Michigan + the Pistons: This can’t lose, right?

Hard to imagine that going south for even this group. But never say never!

FanDuel has run this promotion before, including:

• Indiana Hoosiers basketball moved to +118 vs Michigan State last February (IN only)
• Philadelphia 76ers point spread closed at +59.5 against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this year (PA only)
• Denver Nuggets spread closed at +117 against the LA Clippers in August (CO only)
• The Lakers moved to +124 vs. the Houston Rockets in September (IL only)
• Vanderbilt Commodores football moved to +86.5 vs. Kentucky in November (TN only)

Bettors are already a bit familiar with FanDuel Michigan’s promos, winning more than $1.7 million as part of special odds boost wins this weekend.

They are also familiar with NBA betting, as the operator reported that 59% of FanDuel Michigan’s customers’ first bets were on NBA markets.

Will Lakers vs. Pistons actually be close?

Very unlikely.

However, it’s still a notable watch for NBA fans as there is quite a bit of history for James against the Pistons.

A young LeBron famously busted through Detroit in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, carrying Cleveland to the NBA Finals that year.

This will be the first time LeBron plays for the Lakers at Little Caesars Arena, though.

James missed the 2019 game in Detroit because of an injury, and the trip to Motown was wiped out last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.