If you go by form since the All-Star break, tonight’s 7 p.m. ET game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets is a battle between the league’s best team and its worst. After the intermission, Cleveland is 8-0 with a plus-16.3 net rating that would be the best in NBA history, while Charlotte is 1-8 with a negative-20.9 net rating that would also be the worst ever. It would be a massive disappointment if the Cavaliers didn’t extend their winning streak to 13 games, which would be their second streak of at least that long this season.
Donovan Mitchell has been really good all season, but since the All-Star break, he’s stepped it up even more, averaging 27.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, including a 41-point performance in a comeback victory over the Boston Celtics on February 28.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Cleveland is a 16-point favorite and the total is set for 236. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around the six-time All-Star.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell Race to 20 Points (+260)
I’d put the hypothetical over-under on Mitchell’s fourth-quarter minutes at 0.5, because this game could get out of hand extremely quickly. Although any huge Cavaliers lead would require Mitchell to go off, I’m staying away from his full-game prop, as is customary for superstars in games with such lopsided lines. Instead, I’m opting to bet high on him early in the game; since the All-Star break, he’s averaged 13.6 first-half points, the sixth-most in the NBA. Over that same time frame, the Hornets have allowed the 11th-most first-half points in the league. If he doesn’t get there in the first half, it’s not like Charlotte has locked opponents down in the third quarter, either, and since the intermission, Mitchell is third in the league in third-quarter scoring.
Even in three quarters, I’m fairly confident that Mitchell will get to 20 points, so it just depends on whether somebody else gets there first. If anyone does, it could be Darius Garland, who actually leads Cleveland in first-half usage rate since the midseason showcase. But Garland has only one 20-point game in that span, given that he’s shot just 34.0% from the field. Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball is probably the best bet with Mark Williams out — Ball has the shortest odds at +200 — but he, too, is averaging only 19.7 points per game since the All-Star break on 35.5% shooting from the field, and his usage has dropped from 35.5% before the intermission to 29.9% afterwards.
Donovan Mitchell O9.5 Assists + Rebounds (+105)
Across Charlotte’s eight-game skid, it has allowed the second-most rebounds and third-most assists per game to opposing players. I don’t expect that to change tonight with Mark Williams — the roster’s only good rebounder besides Ball, who is decent for a six-foot-seven, 180-pound player — out with foot injury management.
Mitchell has been fairly consistent as a passer all season, and he has dished out exactly five dimes in each of his last four games. If he does so again tonight, his chances of hitting this prop hinge on whether or not he can snag five rebounds, and he’s in good form, snagging exactly seven in each of his past two games, although the first one came with power forward Evan Mobley resting. He’s brought down five or more rebounds 21 times in his 58 appearances, including in the December 7 win against the Hornets, when Williams came off the bench.
