The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. And…the 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers?
Behind All-Star level play from at least three of their starters, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on pace to win 72 games. After starting the season 15-0, they haven’t really slowed down, winning 14 of their 18 games since. Neither has star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell; he’s averaging 23.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He was second among Eastern Conference guards in the first round of All-Star voting returns.
At 8:30 p.m. ET tonight, Cleveland will look to extend its current winning streak to 9 in a road game against the Dallas Mavericks, who are without five-time All-NBA honoree Luka Dončić.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cavaliers are seven-point favorites and the point total is set to 231.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Spida.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell U23.5 Points (-120)
All in all, Mitchell has had a fantastic season and should ultimately garner First-Team All-NBA and MVP consideration. However, he has been pretty consistent as a scorer because Cleveland has so many good players that Mitchell doesn’t need to be a point-of-attack scorer in order to lead his team to victory. His usage rate has varied by 17.7 percentage points throughout the course of the season, so it’s never a guarantee whether you’ll get the ultra-aggressive Mitchell who scored a career-high 71 points on January 2, 2023 or the more conservative version who scored just 10 in a blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans on November 20.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks have lost three of their four games since Dončić went down, but it hasn’t been the defense’s fault. Over the last four games, Dallas has allowed 109.6 points per 100 possessions, the 10th-stingiest mark in the league and roughly the same pace it was on prior to Dončić’s injury. Given the continued stellar performance of the Mavericks defense and the fact that every player in the Cavaliers’ regular rotation except for Isaac Okoro is healthy, I wouldn’t expect him to put up huge scoring numbers tonight. He has scored at least 24 points in two of his last three games, but those came against the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers — the 19th- and 21st-ranked defenses, respectively.
Donovan Mitchell O1.5 Steals (+135)
Of all the guards in the Eastern Conference who are their team’s top scoring options — him, Jalen Brunson, Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Cade Cunningham, Cam Thomas, RJ Barrett, and Jordan Poole — Mitchell is the best defender. He still isn’t elite — his defensive box plus-minus of negative-0.1 is his worst of his Cleveland stint — but he is supremely athletic and plays with maximum intensity at all times. Mitchell is averaging 1.5 steals per game this season, the 27th-most in the league, and he has racked up at least two steals in exactly half of his games.
Meanwhile, Dallas has struggled to take care of the ball, even with Dončić — who ranks 13th in the league in turnovers per game — sidelined. In their last four games, the Mavericks have allowed opponents to average 11.0 steals per game, the fourth-most in basketball. Given that Mitchell accounts for 24.2% of Cleveland’s steals when he is on the floor, I like his chances of recording at least two steals on Friday night.
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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.
