After fighting through the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons meet tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On one side, you have an offense-heavy group headlined by Donovan Mitchell and James Harden looking to finally push the franchise past the second round for the first time in years. On the other, a young and hungry roster led by Cade Cunningham is ahead of schedule and trying to announce their arrival as a serious contender.

On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Pistons enter as a 3.5-point favorite at home with -148 odds to win on the Moneyline. The game total is set at 215.5 combined points.

Here are the top Cavaliers vs. Pistons prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for this Tuesday night NBA Playoffs matchup.

Best Cavaliers vs. Pistons player prop bets

Cade Cunningham under 28.5 PTS (-116)

The Pistons couldn’t have turned the franchise outlook around in such drastic fashion without Cade Cunningham, who was selected at No. 1 in the 2021 NBA Draft. The talented lead guard has become the face of the organization and shown off incredible skills over the last couple of seasons, earning the first All-NBA nod of his career last year and even getting some love in the MVP race in recent months. You’d think we’d be taking his overs, right?

Wrong. Cunningham has put forth some wild stat lines to average 32.4 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in seven games of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. His shooting splits are also in line with or better than his regular-season marks at 46.2% from the field and 39.6% from deep. Why would we fade him when he’s this hot as a scorer?

There is a reasonable explanation for the process. The superstar guard is certainly capable of a big night, but for starters, his line of 28.5 points feels like it’s a result of recency bias. Yes, he’s playing more minutes given the playoff stakes while also scoring more than in the regular season, but Cunningham averaged just 23.9 PPG this year. That mark was down from last year’s average of 26.1 PPG, plus he’s shooting over five percentage points better from three in this small sample than he did in the regular season. If that regresses a bit, it could spell trouble. The main reason a fade makes sense, though, is that Cunningham struggled in four games against the Cavaliers this season. He averaged just 18.5 PPG in those contests, shooting only 34.2% overall and 16.7% from beyond the arc. Plus, he stayed under 28.5 points in all four games. Perhaps there’s something about the way Cleveland plays him that can keep his scoring down again.

Donovan Mitchell over 25.5 points (-107)

We’re going in the opposite direction for our Cavs player prop tonight. Donovan Mitchell hasn’t been his dominant self in the postseason over the last few games, being held under 25.5 points in five straight games after starting the first round with 32 and 30 points. That doesn’t mean he can’t go over the line tonight, though.

The 29-year-old guard posted 27.9 points and 5.7 assists per game during the regular season, shooting 48.3% from the field and 36.4% from deep over his 70 games. That scoring average was his highest since his first campaign in Cleveland back in 2022-23, so there’s something to be said about his aggressiveness and ability to carry the load for this team. Mitchell has certainly been a playoff riser in his career as well, bringing an average of 27.8 PPG since entering the league in 2017-18 and posting 29.6 PPG in each of the last two postseasons prior to his 23.1 PPG mark we’ve seen through his seven games in 2026.

Yes, he hasn’t accessed his ceiling over the last five or so games, but we know Mitchell is capable of exploding on the stat sheet. He very well could tonight after posting 32.5 PPG in two games against Detroit during the regular season, shooting an absurd 59.0% overall in that pair of matchups. He scored 30 and 35 points in those contests, and dating back to the start of last season, Mitchell has averaged 28.6 PPG in five games against the Pistons. Breaking this defense will prove difficult, but the star guard is a player who can do it and the numbers show that he’s been very productive in this matchup recently.