The Milwaukee Bucks will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. The Cavs could remain without one of their star players in this spot: guard Donovan Mitchell remains questionable with an illness. Mitchell was also questionable with the same ailment on Wednesday and ended up failing to play. 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?
Few teams have had injury luck as bad as the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland will remain on the shelf for a while. Reserve guards Ty Jerome and Ricky Rubio are both out as well. Donovan Mitchell has even missed the last four games with this illness.
Mitchell’s illness flared up before Christmas, as his first absence came following a matchup with the Houston Rockets on December 18. However, Mitchell was healthy enough to participate in shootaround ahead of Wednesday’s game in Dallas before ultimately sitting it out.
Mitchell should make his return soon. It’s honestly surprising we didn’t see him take the floor in Dallas, but the Cavaliers got Caris LeVert back for that one, which made Mitchell’s absence slightly less of a strain. The Cavs ended up beating the Mavs by three — and largely because of LeVert’s efforts.
The betting markets don’t offer a ton of insight into Mitchell’s availability. The Cavs opened as 5.5-point home underdogs to the Bucks and are now trading as 6-point dogs on FanDuel. Mitchell is the only member of the Cavaliers available on the player prop markets, which suggests the books are waiting on more news before allowing action on his teammates. Mitchell’s point total is trading at 31.5 or 30.5, depending on where you look, after opening at 29.5.
Donovan Mitchell Player Prop Pick
Just about everyone wants action on the over for Donovan Mitchell tonight. DraftKings Sportsbook reported that his over was the most bet points prop for tonight’s games early in the afternoon, which may explain why the number has ticked up a full two points from where it opened.
The Bucks give up a ton of points to opposing point guards. Jalen Brunson put together two 35-plus point showings against them just this week. The Bucks have given up the fifth-most points per game to the position this year (25.8) as well. That said, the confidence — perhaps overconfidence — in Mitchell’s ability to bounce back from an illness that caused him to miss multiple games feels misplaced.
Mitchell has recorded 32 points or more just six times this year in 22 appearances. He did so in three of his six games without Darius Garland. Last year, Mitchell cleared the 32-point threshold 26 times in 68 appearances, including five of his nine games without Garland.
But can Mitchell put together an average-to-above-average night after a multi-game absence? We’ve seen him return from multi-game absences four times since he joined the Cavaliers. He finished those games with point totals of 28, 24, 11 and 22. Since the 2020-21 campaign, Mitchell has cleared the 31.5 in his return from a multi-game absence just once.
Donovan Mitchell Player Prop Pick: Under 31.5 Points -115 at FanDuel
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