It’s safe to say Donovan Mitchell had himself a night on Monday.
His Cleveland Cavaliers went to overtime against the Chicago Bulls, giving us four quarters and some change, along with 279 total points. Mitchell had 71 of them. 🤯
Mitchell’s offensive explosion was the most prolific since Devin Booker’s 70-point game against the Boston Celtics in 2017. Those two and Kobe Bryant (81) are the only players to surpass the 70 mark this century.
Booker’s Phoenix Suns visit Cleveland on Wednesday. Has Mitchell cooled down since his supernova performance to open the new year?
Should we expect Mitchell to stay hot?
If the Cavaliers are going to cover the spread (-5.5), there’s a good chance they’ll be relying on their superstar yet again. FanDuel is currently offering -108 odds on Cleveland covering, meaning a $108 could bring home $100.
Monday night’s game demanded everything from Mitchell: 71 points, 8 boards, and 11 assists. He was the offense, through and through. Caris LeVert 2-of-13 from the field. Kevin Love was the only other starter to make a three-point attempt. Mitchell took on the roles of injured, struggling teammates, shapeshifting into the entire Cleveland game plan.
Fortunately, Phoenix shouldn’t present too much of a challenge. Without Booker, who will be sidelined for a month, they lack any semblance of lethality. Against the New York Knicks on Monday, they managed to put up 83 points. In the two games prior, they put up 102 and 104, respectively.
This is a team that relies far too much on an aging Chris Paul and center Deandre Ayton. The latter has put up -0.7 WAR (per 538) 🥶. You have been kinder to the Suns’ playoff hopes than the newly-extended center. Without Booker, the Suns are not the team that has ranked 7th in net rating through 38 games.
Additionally, nothing about Mitchell’s game should come crashing back down to Earth, other than the ungodly point total. He only shot 7-of-15 from deep and 22-of-34 from the field. Sure, hitting 20-of-25 free throws is a bit egregious, but Mitchell didn’t have an out of body experience. He was simply used like a man having one.
FanDuel currently lists his points prop at 30.5, with -112 odds on the over and -108 odds on the under. This is a line greatly influenced by Monday’s game–probably too much. Aside from his last game, Mitchell hadn’t topped 30 since December 21. He’s dropped 15 or fewer in three of his last five. If you’re feeling trigger happy on either side of that prop, be sure to use FanDuel’s promotion for Bet Basics readers: UP TO $1,000 BACK IN BONUS BETS.
Expect Mitchell to lead Cleveland to victory yet again, even if it comes in a vastly different fashion than we saw to start the year. The total line is set at 217.5, by far the lowest of any NBA game on Wednesday.
There’s a talent gap here, but the points shouldn’t come in bunches. Plan accordingly.
BASIC TIPS
This article features an against the spread (ATS) bet, where a team must cover to win. Favorites cover by winning by more than the allotted amount. In this case, that means Cleveland (-5.5) winning by at least six points. The underdogs Suns (+5.5), must win or lose by five or fewer points in order to cover.