While it is not for a lack of effort from Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in a 2-1 series deficit against the Indiana Pacers heading into Game 4. NBA teams have only been able to climb out of a 3-1 series hole on 13 occasions, so this will be a fateful matchup for the Cavaliers tonight.
They will be looking to ride the momentum from their 126-104 Game 3 win. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and D’Andre Hunter each missed Game 2, with Garland missing the series opener as well, but they all returned in Game 3. Tonight’s matchup will be taking place in Indiana, with the home team not having produced a victory in any game thus far in the series.
The Cavaliers enter Game 4 as 5.5-point favorites with -225 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Pacers hold +185 odds of getting the outright victory with the game total set at 231 points.
With the stage set, here are my favorite Mitchell prop bets for Game 4.
Best Donovan Mitchell Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Donovan Mitchell’s props are listed at over/under 30.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.5 made three-pointers and 41.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Donovan Mitchell Over 30.5 Points (-120)
The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 64-18 record in the regular season, leading the Eastern Conference from wire-to-wire. For the betterment of the team, and because it was not always necessary, Mitchell has been willing to take a back seat for stretches. The six-time All-Star averaged 24 points per game this season, which marked his fewest since the 2019-20 season when he was still with the Utah Jazz.
With the bright lights of the postseason on him, Mitchell has stepped to center stage once again. He is averaging 31.3 points per game this postseason and is coming off back-to-back games with 43+ points. He has recorded over 30.5 points in all three games in this series. This also comes following a regular season in which Mitchell dropped 35 points in one of the two matchups he played against Indiana.
Expect the home crowd to be rowdy in favor of the Pacers and for Mitchell to be called on at a high rate. Even more encouraging than the raw scoring, he has attempted 30, 30 and 29 field goals across the opening three games. Garland still seems bothered by his toe issue, and Ty Jerome has shot a combined 2-for-22 in the past two games. Cleveland is a bit limited in offensive creators outside of these players.
Expect Mitchell to continue being the complete offensive engine and be willing to take on the role of the villain in the opposing arena. He understands the weight of this matchup regarding the importance of the series outlook. Count on Mitchell to do everything possible to give the Cavaliers a chance with him going past 30.5 points in the process for the fourth straight game.
Donovan Mitchell to Record 35+ Points (+150)
To take it a step further, this is a matchup where I like laddering Mitchell’s point prop. While the +900 odds of him scoring 45 points (which he reached in Game 2) and +360 odds of scoring 40+ points (which he has done in the past two games) could also be worth sprinkles, we will keep it to +150 for Mitchell to score 35+ points. He has reached this total 13 times in his playoff career.
Even amid a down-scoring season by his standards, Mitchell reached this number nine times, including once against Indiana. His volume of opportunity is what is most appealing here. While his scoring numbers have popped, Mitchell has not played his most efficient basketball. He is shooting 47.5% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the three-point arc in the postseason. Just looking at the opening three games of this series, Mitchell is shooting just 22.6% from beyond the three-point arc. He has made just seven total three-pointers, with just 16.9% of his scoring coming from the perimeter.
Mitchell is too good of a shooter for this to last. Indiana has had no answer for his combination of athleticism and skill. Don’t expect this to change ahead of tonight.
Playoffs are where stars are supposed to shine the brightest, and Mitchell has done exactly this. Count on the Cavaliers’ star to leave it all on the floor tonight and tally 35+ points for the third straight game.
