ESPN's basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you lock in daily fantasy and betting decisions for that night's games. Here you'll find our top insights for the slate, including players to target for your daily fantasy rosters, along with game-by-game injury reports.
What you need to know for Monday
The action in the playoffs just keeps heating up, and Sunday was a prime example. The New York Knicks completed their sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers with a 30-point shellacking, their seventh straight win and the second-straight series they have closed out with a monster blowout.
Meanwhile, out West, Victor Wembanyama caught his first career ejection after elbowing Naz Reid above the neck and the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to take advantage of his absence late to tie their series with the San Antonio Spurs. Big things on both sides.
There should be more of that type of action tonight, but with the leagues reversed.
Out West, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers after having won the first three games by at least 18 points in each. The Lakers have managed to have periods in each game where they've been more competitive before ultimately being blown out down the stretch.
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Detroit Pistons in a pivotal Game 4. The home team has won every game this series, and the Cavs will need to continue that trend to give themselves a reasonable chance to advance. However, if the Pistons can steal the win tonight, it would give them a commanding 3-1 lead going back to Detroit for Game 5.
As always, we will dig into all of the storylines to identify some betting angles of interest and potential DFS value plays. Let's get into it.
Dré's Bets for Monday
Donovan Mitchell over 26.5 points (-123): Mitchell seems to have rediscovered his playoffs form. Typically, Mitchell has been a better scorer in the playoffs (30.0 PPG in 47 playoff games from 2020 through 2025) than in the regular season (25.8 PPG during that same span). In this year's playoffs, Mitchell averaged 31.0 PPG through the first two games, only to slump to 20.5 PPG on 40.2 FG% and a paltry 1.7 FTA over the next six games.
He has bounced back of late, though, particularly after having a press conference where he referred to his lack of free throw opportunities and wondering if he should start flopping to get calls. In the last two games, Mitchell has averaged 33.0 PPG on 50.0 FG% with 8.5 FTA. In a monster Game 4 at home, I expect Mitchell to stay aggressive and put more points on the board.
Tobias Harris over 18.5 points (-114): Harris has been metronome consistent as a scorer in these playoffs. He has scored at least 20 points in eight straight playoff games, averaging 22.5 PPG on 48.9 FG% over that span. It's the same, win or lose. I see no reason for that to change in tonight's Game 4, and I'm actually pretty surprised that his line is still set below 20 points given his consistency eclipsing that mark.
Thunder -11.5 vs. Lakers (-105): These two teams have now played seven times this season, including both the regular season and the playoffs. The Thunder have won all seven games by an average margin of 23.7 PPG. Only one of those wins was by single digits -- a nine-point win in February. All six others have been by at least 18 points. LeBron James has had a valiant run this playoffs, but Luka Doncic isn't walking through that door and the Thunder have just consistently been way too much for the Lakers to handle.
Top Daily Fantasy Values of the Day
$8,100+ Salaries
Cade Cunningham, PG, Pistons ($10,900): Cunningham has dropped more than 50 fantasy points in the last two games of the series, and in five of his last six games overall to support his high price point.
Donovan Mitchell, SG, Cavaliers (8,700): Mitchell is the only other high-priced player tonight producing near that level. In his two-game re-awakening, he has totaled more than 100 fantasy points.
$6,100-$8,000 Salaries
Chet Holmgren, C, Thunder ($7,700): Holmgren's recent run of nightly 20-10 production, along with strong defensive numbers, has made him an elite fantasy producer. He has notched 49 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games, including two of three games in this series.
Tobias Harris, SF, Pistons ($7,100): Harris has been a near 40 FP/G scorer in these playoffs, with a low of 27.8 FP and a high of 54.2 thus far.
Ajay Mitchell, PG, Thunder ($6,700): Mitchell has produced well in the playoffs as a whole, regularly dropping more than 30 FP per night, but stepped it up with a 52.5 FP explosion in Game 3. His confidence has grown as the series has progressed and, if the Thunder continue to handle the Lakers with ease, I'd expect another good game from Mitchell.
$3,500-$6,000 Salaries
Jarrett Allen, C, Cavaliers ($5,600): Allen has averaged well over 30 FP/G over his last five outings. He had one monster game of 58.8 FP and one low of 8.8 FP in 18 minutes but, other than that, has scored at least 30 FP in each of his other three games.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
8 p.m. ET
Line: Pistons +3.5 (-105) | Cavaliers -3.5 (-115)
Money line: Pistons +140 | Cavaliers -166
Total: 213.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Pistons by 1.9, straight up 56%, 219.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Pistons: Caris LeVert, (GTD - Heel)
Cavaliers: None reported
Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers
10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Thunder -11.5 (-105) | Lakers +11.5 (-115)
Money line: Thunder -520 | Lakers +390
Total: 214.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Thunder by 6.2, straight up 69%, 216.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Jalen Williams, (OUT - Hamstring); Thomas Sorber, (OFS - Knee)
Lakers: Luka Doncic, (OUT - Hamstring)
