The rematch of the century turned out to be a rematch to forget for the Cleveland Cavaliers, getting blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder last Thursday. But as a great team does, Cleveland rebounded with a 124-117 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves to put it back on a 70-win pace and the edge in the race for home-court advantage in a hypothetical NBA Finals against the Thunder.
Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, the talisman of the Cavaliers, had another rough outing in the loss to Oklahoma City, shooting just three-for-15 from the field, but he enjoyed a bounceback against the Timberwolves, dropping 36 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists — even if he took 27 shots to get there. He should have an easier time tonight against the Phoenix Suns, who will travel to the shores of Lake Erie for a 3:30 p.m. ET clash.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Cleveland is a 7.5-point favorite and the point total is set to 236.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Spida.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell 30+ Points (+175)
This season, Mitchell has been one of the most inconsistent No. 1 scoring options in the sport, and he’s on a seven-game shooting slump, putting up just 40-32-90 splits and averaging just 20.4 points across that span. However, he’s also going up against one of the most inconsistent teams tonight in the Phoenix Suns, who panicked enough to make two major lineup changes in the past few weeks, relegating Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkić to the bench and then trading for Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards.
This season, Phoenix has allowed the 11th-most points, 10th-most rebounds, and 13th-most assists to opposing players, but that somewhat belies how bad the Suns have truly been. Over their last 15 games, they have the sixth-worst defensive rating in basketball, and the teams below them have a combined winning percentage of .240 across that stretch. Phoenix figures to be a major player during the upcoming trade deadline, and it’s even possible — although unlikely — that Kevin Durant could be on the move yet again.
This is mostly a bet that on the Suns’ dysfunction, but Mitchell will also benefit from Evan Mobley’s absence. Mobley sat out Saturday’s win over Minnesota, forcing Mitchell to post by far his highest usage rate of the season. If he has even an average shooting performance, he should have no problem reaching the 30-point threshold for just the 11th time this season.
