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 Wednesday
The Detroit Pistons will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a huge Game 5 showdown tonight. When a best of seven series is tied at two games apiece, the winner of Game 5 goes on to win the series 82% of the time. And in this series, in particular, home court advantage has been a big factor with the home team winning all four games so far.
Cade Cunningham will try to lead the Pistons back to the win column, likely by taking better care of the ball. Cunningham has 13 turnovers in his last two games, contributing to the Cavs finding their level and evening the series.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell was struggling to score in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit but found his shot and ability to draw fouls back home the last two games. He will need to continue to play at that level for the Cavs to have a chance at stealing Game 5 on the road.
Let's dig further into this matchup to identify some betting angles and DFS value picks for tonight's action.
Dre's Bets for Wednesday
Donovan Mitchell over 26.5 points (-112)
Mitchell has made a career of putting up betting scoring numbers in the playoffs than the regular season, which is why it was so surprising that he averaged only 20.5 PPG on 40.2 FG% from Game 3 of Round 1 up through Game 1 of Round 2. But Mitchell found his game and dropped 31 in Game 2 and hasn't looked back. He's averaged 36.3 PPG in the past three games, including record-tying 39 second half points in Game 4, and I expect him to continue to put the ball in the basket in Game 5.
Tobias Harris over 18.5 points (-123)
Harris saw his streak of eight straight games scoring 20-plus points end with a 16-point effort in Game 4. Perhaps he starts a new streak tonight, bouncing back closer to the 22.5 PPG he had averaged in the previous eight games. Harris has proven himself to be a consistent second scoring option for the Pistons in these playoffs. Even in Game 4 he got off to a great start, scoring 14 points in the first half before the Cavaliers ratcheted up the pressure and slowed the entire Pistons team in the second. Back home for Game 5, Harris plays up to the level he has established in the playoffs.
Top Daily Fantasy Values of the Day
$8,100+ Salaries
Cade Cunningham, PG, Detroit Pistons ($12,400)
Cunningham has the highest ceiling of any player in this series and is likely to play his best game at home in a pivotal Game 5.
Donovan Mitchell, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers ($10,800)
Mitchell has found his typical playoffs scoring touch and averaging well over 30 PPG in his last three outings, a trend that should continue in Game 5.
$3,500-$6,000 Salaries
Daniss Jenkins, PG, Detroit Pistons ($4,400)
Jenkins may be the player whose value is most tied to the game location. Going back to the last series, in Jenkins' last three games in Detroit he has averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 3PG and 1.3 SPG in 28.0 MPG (compared with only 3.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 3.0 APG in 19.3 MPG in his last three road appearances). Tonight, Jenkins is playing in Detroit in a game his team needs to win, so I expect him to produce.
Paul Reed, C, Detroit Pistons ($2,000)
After not playing in the first two games in the series, Reed was tapped for both games in Cleveland and responded by averaging 13.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG. He's not getting a lot of run, only 12.0 MPG, but he's been efficient and seems to have carved out a definite role against the Cavs. He is a super-min priced player, and in the Showdown Captain Mode Draft Kings format tonight, getting value at such a low cost could allow you to start more impact players at other slots.
James Harden hits a step-back 3-pointer to extend the Cavaliers lead over the Pistons.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
8 p.m. ET
Line: Cavaliers +4.5 (-115) | Pistons -4.5 (-105)
Money line: Cavaliers +150 | Pistons -180
Total: 212.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Pistons by 6.8, straight up 70%, 219.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Cavaliers: None reported
Pistons: Caris LeVert, (GTD - Heel); Duncan Robinson, (GTD - Back)
