On Tuesday night, the Eastern Conference Finals tip off as the Cleveland Cavaliers head to Madison Square Garden for Game 1 against the New York Knicks. There’s plenty of pressure as this series opens, but Donovan Mitchell has proven capable of performing under the lights before. Now, the star guard makes his first career appearance in a conference final, but how will he fare against a team that looks poised to have the upper hand in this series?
Here are the top Donovan Mitchell prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s Cavaliers vs. Knicks Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Best Donovan Mitchell prop bets
The Cavaliers have had a tough run through the NBA Playoffs already, going seven games against the Toronto Raptors before a grueling seven-game set against the Detroit Pistons last round. The team has its share of flaws but has gotten the job done to this point, due in no small part to its star guard tandem. While James Harden’s postseason numbers seemingly always come under focus, Donovan Mitchell has continued to play the lead role for Cleveland.
During the regular season, the Louisville product produced a team-best 27.9 PPG with 5.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals. It was one of his most efficient seasons from the field at 48.3% overall, and while his 36.4% three-point percentage may not jump off the page, he still averaged 3.2 makes from distance per game. In the playoffs, Mitchell’s numbers have dropped off to 25.6 points and 3.3 assists a night, as have his shooting splits at a 44.5% FG% and 31.1% 3P%. Despite the decline in production, he’s posted five outings of 30+ points with a 43-point explosion in that span. For an undersized guard, that’s not too shabby against great defenses.
Tonight, DraftKings Sportsbook lists Mitchell’s prop bet lines at O/U 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 three pointers. His combined PTS + REB + AST line comes in at 35.5.
The Knicks are a really tough matchup thanks to versatile wing defenders like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, but Mitchell has actually produced well against them this season. In three games against New York this year, he averaged 29.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds, though a FG% of just 42.6% wasn’t much to write home about. He dropped 31 and 34 points in two of those outings, scoring 23 in the third. If we go back a little further to the last two seasons, he’s played the Knicks six total times. His numbers over that span sit at 27.8 points, 5.0 dimes and 4.2 boards. He dropped 25+ points in five of six games with 27+ points in four of six.
While Mitchell’s scoring and efficiency have ticked downward to an extent in these playoffs and he’s only gone over 26.5 points in five of his 14 total games, the track record against New York does speak for itself. The Cavaliers should defer to him plenty and volume alone may be enough to get him over this scoring line, especially if Harden or Evan Mobley struggle in this matchup. With that in mind, I’m taking the over on Mitchell’s points here and will be happy to adjust in the remainder of this series depending on how he responds to the defensive coverages he gets.
