The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face off at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight, as Donovan Mitchell goes head-to-head with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET, with the game airing on ESPN.
What a game we have on Wednesday, as the Thunder and the Cavaliers have already combined for 61 wins this season and are the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference standings.
With both teams out to prove something, my Thunder vs Cavaliers same-game parlay is targeting points props for Donovan Mitchell in our top NBA picks featuring.
Thunder vs Cavaliers SGP - January 8
Donovan Mitchell 30+ points
Donovan Mitchell 5+ threes made
Cavaliers moneyline
It's been a common theme throughout the entire regular season with the Cleveland Cavaliers: they keep blowing everyone out, so their starters don't play many minutes from game to game. The decreased floor time has led to lower statistical outputs, and their player props have ultimately followed suit to reflect the minutes they are consistently playing.
That being said, whenever the Cavaliers find themselves in a potentially competitive matchup, you immediately have to look at the Overs for their player props, and that's exactly what we have tonight when they face the top team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, at home — yeah, Donovan Mitchell is playing more than his season average of 31 minutes.
The Thunder have an elite defense, but this will just force the Cavs to lean more heavily on Mitchell. It's not like there are weak points in the Thunder defense that Darius Garland or Evan Mobley can exploit, shifting the usage toward them and away from Mitchell. Everyone will have a tough matchup, and that's when you lean on your superstars.
Besides, Mitchell wants to be the alpha superstar on a championship team, which is why there were rumors about him leaving Cleveland. Mitchell wants the bright lights, and this is his chance to grab national headlines as the Cavaliers are having an amazing season.
In addition to the 30+ points, I'm rolling with 5+ threes. If Mitchell is going to hit the alternate Over of 30+ points, I find it hard to believe he'll get there without knocking down five from beyond the arc. Driving into the teeth of the Thunder defense, where they have active hands and Isaiah Hartenstein protecting the rim, isn't a recipe for success.
The Cavaliers should be a 3-point favorite, but the market is trading them at -2.5. If Cleveland gets a superstar performance from Mitchell, which is essential for the other legs of this parlay, that will go a long way toward winning outright as well.
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