NBA Wednesday Preview: 2 Player Props and Best Bet for April 2

After a double-overtime and two 50+ point performances by former MVPs, let’s see if April 2nd action can live up to April Fool’s Day in the NBA. This Cavs against Knicks matchup has blowout written all over it.

With 2 nights’ rest, the Cavs and Donovan Mitchell should dominate the Knicks on the offensive end. In Houston, look for this odd Fred Van Vleet trend to come true in their game against Utah.

Donovan Mitchell (CLE) OVER 5.5 1Q Points

Mitchell scored seven points in the first two quarters against New York this season in two eventual Cavalier victories. The Knicks are playing in a back-to-back while Cleveland has rested for two straight nights before their home matchup tonight.

Over his L3 first quarters, he’s gone for 7/4/10 points while finding his footing on the offensive end after missing some time with that groin injury. The Cavs are trending up in the Eastern Conference, and Mitchell is electric in first quarters at home this season, averaging 7.2 PPG on 51/44/89 shooting splits.

Fred Van Vleet (HOU) OVER 2.5 3PM

The Rockets are looking to hold their positioning as the second-best team in the Western Conference with a win today against Utah. The Jazz started the tanking process weeks ago, currently sitting 16-60 in the West, losing six straight.

As for Houston, Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, and the rest of the backcourt are playing at an extremely high level. Fred Van Vleet was out with an ankle sprain for most of February, but since coming back full-time on March 12th against Phoenix, the Rockets are 9-2 and back in the conversation to make a trip back to the Western Conference Finals.

The key trend with FVV’s three point ball since their March 21st matchup against Miami? 9/1/3/1/3/1. Follow this trend tonight as the Jazz shouldn’t be able to handle all the firepower the Rockets possess on both ends of the floor.

Cavaliers -10.5 over Knicks

The Cavs are fully healthy once again, and after getting that uncharacteristic four-game losing streak out of the way, Cleveland is playing much better, winners of 4 of their L5.

The Cavs won a close game at MSG against the Knicks in October and then blew them out of the water in Cleveland just after Valentine’s Day. Their offense and bench depth are simply too much for Thibs and New York, who seem to be on that 2nd tier of the Eastern Conference because of the lack of depth. The Cavs are 8-2 on two days’ rest while New York is 5-7 on back-to-backs.