Tonight’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers features a disgusting injury report. The Mavs listed Luka Doncic as questionable due to left quad soreness. The Cavs listed Donovan Mitchell as questionable with an illness. Let’s dive into the most recent Donovan Mitchell injury update for Wednesday to discuss his odds of playing and a player prop pick. If you’re hungry for more action, check out our NBA player prop bets, our NBA betting tools or our NBA betting promos!
Donovan Mitchell Injury Update: Is Cleveland’s Star Playing Tonight?
Is Donovan Mitchell Playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers Tonight?
The Cavs are having a tough season, especially when it comes to injury luck. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are both on the shelf for a while, but the good news, at least tonight, is that Donovan Mitchell is trending in the right direction.
Mitchell has been dealing with an illness lately. He hasn’t played since a win over the Houston Rockets on December 18. Fortunately for the Cavs, Mitchell was seen participating in shootaround for Wednesday’s game in Dallas.
Although presence at shootaround doesn’t guarantee a player’s availability, considering Mitchell has been dealing with an illness, not an injury, it’s a very good sign that he’ll play.
The Cavs are quite pressed for depth at guard, so even if Mitchell isn’t 100%, he likely feels some pressure to return. The Cavs are obviously down Garland, but backup guards Ricky Rubio and Ty Jerome are shelved as well, along with Sam Merrill. Caris LeVert is questionable, too.
The betting markets offer little insight into Mitchell’s availability, in no small part because Doncic is questionable as well. Cleveland is trading as a 3-point road underdog after opening as a 4-point dog. The only player prop markets available as of publication were for Mitchell, Doncic and Cleveland’s center, Jarrett Allen.
Donovan Mitchell Player Prop Pick
I’m trusting Donovan Mitchell as a passer in this spot. Sure, he has averaged only 5.8 assists per game in six games without Garland this year. Many of his opponents ranked highly in defensive rating and low in pace. Dallas ranks 23rd in defensive rating and eighth in pace. Mitchell averaged 7.2 assists per game without Garland last year.
The Mavs have been giving up more than enough assists to justify backing Mitchell to do some damage as a passer. The Mavericks rank ninth-worst in assists per game allowed to point guards (9.2) on the year. Devin Booker dished out 10 against them on Christmas. James Harden dished out 11 just a few days before that. Lock in the over 6.5 at Caesars, where, if your first bet loses, you’ll get it back as a bonus bet worth up to $1,000!
Donovan Mitchell Player Prop Pick: Over 6.5 Assists -119 at Caesars
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