This season, NBA fans may be feeling some deja vu for the late 2010s, when LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors battled for basketball supremacy over four consecutive Finals. The 12-5 Warriors sit in second in the West, and the Cavaliers are even better, at 17-1 and first place in the East, off to the hottest start of any squad since the 73-9 2015-16 Warriors.
Cleveland will look to extend its historic start on Wednesday night when it hosts the struggling Atlanta Hawks, who may be without star point guard Trae Young. The Cavs are led by shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 24.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and shooting a career-best 41.1 percent from three.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cavaliers are 10-point favorites, and the point total is set at 240. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Mitchell.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell 30+ Points (+180)
No team that rosters Trae Young is ever expected to be a good defensive unit, but the Hawks have been particularly dismal on that end of the floor this season. Opponents have torched Atlanta to the tune of 121.0 points per game, the third-worst rate in the league. Expect Cleveland’s historically great offense — its offensive rating of of 122.8 would be the second-best in NBA history over a full season — to score and score some more on Wednesday night.
The seven-year veteran should be among the players most poised to take advantage. Mitchell has topped the 30-point plateau only five times in his 17 appearances so far this season, but three of them have come in his last six games.
Expect Mitchell to be firing away from deep on Wednesday, as Atlanta has allowed opponents to hoist a league-high 41.7 three-pointers per game. More than half of these threes have been uncontested, a shot which Mitchell hits at a 65.8 percent clip.
There is only one reason for pessimism about Mitchell’s output on Wednesday night: if Young sits, the Cavaliers might rout the Hawks, and if they do, Mitchell will likely be relegated to the bench for much of the fourth quarter.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
