This Cavaliers vs. Celtics game, despite only being in November, has a ton of storylines for a regular-season NBA game.
First of all, this game is for the NBA Cup, as every game on Tuesday and Friday this month counts toward the Cup. Then, we have a rematch from last year's playoffs, when the Celtics took down the Cavaliers in five games.
Of course, the biggest story heading into this game is the undefeated, 15-0 Cavs heading to Boston to take on the defending NBA champion Celtics, who are off to a strong 11-3 start of their own.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on TNT, and this article will detail the best player prop picks for Cavaliers vs. Celtics.
Donovan Mitchell o6.5 1st Q Points (-106) FD
This is a smash play, backing Donovan Mitchell to start fast in a big matchup against the Celtics tonight.
For starters, despite the fact that he typically does not play the entire first quarter, Mitchell has scored at least seven 1Q points in nine of 14 games so far this season.
He does this on an average of over five 1Q field-goal attempts (FGA) and just under three 3-point attempts (3PA), so the volume is there. Generally, Mitchell is one of the players we can count on to start fast.
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Now, for tonight, he gets a great matchup against the Celtics for guard point props. It might not seem that way, due to how good the Celtics defense is in general, but their defensive style leads to points for guards like Mitchell who can pull up from 3-point range and are adept at running pick-and-rolls (PnR).
The Celtics allow the third-most points per possession to PnR ball handlers, and that is the play type where Mitchell scores the majority of his points, by a decent margin.
Last year, in two regular-season games against the Celtics, Mitchell went over this number in both games, scoring 11 and 12 points in the first quarters of those games. He produced those numbers while playing roughly the same amount of first quarter minutes that he averages this year.
Look for Mitchell to start fast tonight.
Donovan Mitchell over 6.5 1st quarter points (-106): 1 Unit
Jayson Tatum o8.5 1st Q Points (+100) FanDuel
For our second play of this game, let's ride with another first quarter points prop, this time backing Jayson Tatum, who has been a man possessed in the first quarter this season.
He has gone over this number in nine of 14 games this season, averaging 11.6 points in the first quarter on the year. Unsurprisingly, Tatum leads the NBA in first quarter points per game, and he is one of only two players averaging double-digit 1Q points.
The beauty of backing Tatum in the first frame is that he reliably plays all 12 minutes. Only once this year has Tatum not played the entire first quarter. That occurred in the third game of the season, when he still played over nine minutes and scored a casual 17 points in that first quarter.
The Cavaliers have a good defense, but the way you can beat them is through jump shots, which lines up perfectly with Tatum's shot profile.
Tatum scores the majority of his points via isolation, and the Cavs allow the second-most points per game via ISO.
In this matchup last year, Tatum went over this number in three of five games in which he played all 12 first quarter minutes, which is the expectation tonight.
So, look for Tatum to join Mitchell as a fast starter tonight.
Jayson Tatum over 8.5 1st quarter points (+100): 1 unit
Darius Garland 3+ Made 3s (+115) FanDuel
As detailed above, guards who can pull up from deep can have success against the Celtics, which also applies to Darius Garland.
This time, we are rocking with him to get to three-plus made 3s to cash out our third and final pick of the game.
This is a play based on the defensive style of the Celtics, who employ drop coverage when guarding screens.
Last year, Garland made at least three triples in five of eight games against the Celtics, and he is shooting at a higher volume this year under first-year Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson.
So far this season, Garland is averaging the most 3PA of his career, and he is also shooting 42.4 percent on pull-up 3s, which is particularly impressive given the increased volume.
As for the Celtics defense, the overall pull-up 3PA numbers against them are not overwhelming at first glance, but that is mostly because 3-point shooting has increased across the NBA.
Last year, the Celtics allowed the most pull-up 3PA at 11.4 per game. This year, they are allowing slightly more (11.6), but that number is only the 13th-highest in the NBA.
That said, we are still getting a good price on this Garland prop, as the books have not quite adjusted for this play.
Overall, Garland has hit this number in eight of 15 games this year. He has only hit it once in his last five games, but that just makes this the perfect time to buy back in on his 3-point prop.
Darius Garland 3+ Made 3s (+115): 1 unit
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