If the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t 40-9, the Boston Celtics would be the talk of the Eastern Conference. The reigning champions are off to a 35-15 start to the season, on pace to win 57 games, just seven fewer than they won last year. The Celtics are really good, but their recent struggles — over a 12-game stretch from January 5 to 27, they went just 6-6 — and Cleveland’s brilliance has overshadowed that fact.
Still, the Cavaliers have rightfully dominated headlines in the East, and they were the only team to land three players on the All-Star team: power forward Evan Mobley and point guard, Darius Garland, both reserves, and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, a starter. The former Utah Jazz leading man has taken a step back in terms of usage, but he has still posted extremely solid numbers, averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Tonight, the two teams will meet at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for a 7:30 p.m. ET clash in one of the more highly-anticipated matchups of the season.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cavaliers (-115 Moneyline) are narrow favorites and the point total is set to 239. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite Mitchell prop bets for those looking to get in on the action.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell U25.5 Points (+105)
Mitchell has been a maddeningly inconsistent scorer this season, scoring fewer than 20 points as many times (17) nearly as many times as he’s scored 26 or more (19). It’s been more a product of usage than of poor efficiency — he’s only shot worse than 40% from the field in nine of his 47 starts — but the fact remains that his season high is just 37 points. This is the first season in Mitchell’s career in which he has failed to reach 30 field goal attempts or 40 points in any single game.
Tonight, Boston has a completely clean injury report, and Isaac Okoro is the only impactful player who won’t suit up for Cleveland tonight. With the Celtics at full strength, they have one of the best defenses in the league, having allowed the fifth-fewest points per game this season. Mitchell will also be incentivized to feed Mobley and center Jarrett Allen in the post, given that Boston — which plays five-out and launches by far the most three-pointers per game — allows 44.6 rebounds per game, the 11th-most in the league. Mitchell did score 35 points in both of the teams’ first two matchups this season, but they were also two of his 11 highest-usage games this season.
Donovan Mitchell U1.5 Turnovers (+124)
Because Mitchell has taken a smaller role in the offense this season with Garland healthy, his 1.9 turnovers per game are a career low and the 14th-fewest among 68 players averaging at least 4.5 assists per game. He has recorded one or fewer turnovers in 23 of his 47 starts, including six of his last eight games.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have struggled to produce turnovers, forcing the ninth-fewest in the league. With Jrue Holiday posting the second-worst steal rate of his career and Derrick White his fourth-lowest, gambling for steals simply hasn’t been the focal point of Joe Mazzulla’s defense this season. In the teams’ two previous matchups, Mitchell recorded one and three turnovers, respectively.
