NBA betting tips, DFS picks for Monday: Will the Cavaliers step up in Game 4?

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 New York Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, a lead that has never been overcome in NBA playoffs history. But the Cavaliers still host Game 4 tonight and will try to avoid becoming the second straight Knicks opponent to get swept.

The Cavaliers have not been able to slow the Knicks down at all on defense, allowing them to shoot 51.6% from the field to control the action. This has led to plenty of fantasy and player prop production for the Knicks in this series, and there hasn't been much to indicate that will change in Game 4.

On the other side of the ball, the Knicks have held the Cavaliers' offense mostly in check since initiating their big comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 1. Historically, Donovan Mitchell has been a huge playoff scorer whether his team wins or loses, but in this series, his scoring has been pedestrian compared to his norms.

We'll dig further into the matchup to identify some betting angles and DFS pickups of interest for this Memorial Day tilt.

Dre's Bets for Sunday

Donovan Mitchell OVER 26.5 points (-123)

Mitchell is averaging 26.0 PPG this series, but historically he has been a big scorer in elimination rounds. Last season, he averaged 34.2 PPG against the Pacers with games of 48 and 43 points. The season before, he averaged 36.8 PPG against the Celtics with games of 50 and 39 points. If health allows, I don't see Mitchell going out without putting a big number on the board. There have been some rumblings that he may be dealing with a groin issue, but he has played through it and it isn't on the injury report. I expect him to come out in Game 4, at home, and give a vintage Mitchell scoring effort ... whether his team wins or loses.

Mikal Bridges over 14.5 points (-126)

Bridges has been one of the most consistent Knicks scorers in recent weeks, averaging 19.1 PPG on a whopping 69.1 FG% in his last eight games. He scored 17 or more points in seven of those eight games, including in all three games of this series against the Cavaliers, and is coming off 22 points in Game 3.

Top Daily Fantasy Values of the Day

$8,100+ Salaries

Jalen Brunson, PG, San Antonio Spurs ($10,000)

Brunson has either scored 30+ points or dished 14 assists in all three games in this series. The Cavaliers have had no success in slowing his production down, and barring an unexpected change, he should continue to produce.

$6,000-$8,000 Salaries

Josh Hart, SG/SF, New York Knicks ($8,000)

Hart is a statistical jack-of-all trades, but has shown in the last two games that he can also knock down shots when the opposing defense focuses on slowing Jalen Brunson. This has led Hart to games of 37.8 and 47.5 FPG in his last two.

Jarrett Allen, C, Cleveland Cavaliers ($7,200)

Allen has played extremely well in the two times in these playoffs that the Cavaliers have faced elimination. He dropped 58.8 FP in Game 7 against the Raptors, then followed that up with 36.2 FP in Game 7 against the Pistons. He's been a solid producer this series, but if he continues his trend could play up with his back against the wall tonight.

$1,500-$5,900 Salaries

Max Strus, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers ($5,600)

There aren't any consistently large producers in this price range, but Strus is one that has shown proven 30+ FP potential in these playoffs. He has scored between 28.8 and 38.5 fantasy points six times in the payoffs, including the 34.8 FP he dropped last game.

Projections and Injury Reports

Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers

8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Line: Knicks -2.5 (-110) | Cavaliers +2.5 (-110)

Money line: Knicks -135 | Cavaliers +114

Total: 218.5 (-112 O, -108 U)

BPI Projection: Knicks by 2.9, straight up 59%, 218.7 total points.

Injury Report:



Knicks: None reported

Cavaliers: None reported