Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals tips off at 8 p.m. ET, and with players like Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Karl-Anthony Towns set to take the court, there are a variety of options to choose from when deciding which NBA prop bets to wager on. Towns averaged just 15.5 points in New York’s series against the 76ers, but he was on the court only 23.3 minutes per game on average due to the lopsided scorelines. Towns averaged 20.1 points per game during the regular season, and his over/under for total points in Game 1 is 17.5. The 6x NBA All-Star has scored at least 17 points seven times already in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and the SportsLine Projection Model is expecting him to exceed his point total tonight, projecting that Towns will finish with 20.6 points on average.
The model is also high on Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell to continue his stellar play in Game 1. Mitchell finished with eight assists and six rebounds in Cleveland’s victory over the Pistons in Game 7, and his over/under for assists + rebounds on Tuesday is 8.5. Before locking in Tuesday’s NBA prop picks and other NBA bets on betting sites like FanDuel, be sure to check out top picks from the proven computer model and team of experts at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past eight-plus seasons. The model entered the conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 26-10 roll (72%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Top NBA player prop picks for Cavs vs. Knicks
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks, Over 17.5 points
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers, Over 8.5 assists + rebounds
- Mikal Bridges, Knicks, Over 15.5 points + rebounds
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks, Over 17.5 points
Towns averaged just 15.5 points in New York’s series against the 76ers, but he was on the court only 23.3 minutes per game on average due to the lopsided scorelines. Towns averaged 20.1 points per game during the regular season and has scored at least 17 points seven times already in the postseason. The SportsLine Projection Model is expecting him to exceed his point total tonight, projecting that Towns will finish with 20.6 points on average, eclipsing the posted total of 17.5.
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers, Over 8.5 rebounds + assists
Mitchell is coming off a dominant performance in Cleveland’s Game 7 victory over the Pistons. He finished with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds, helping the Cavs reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. Mitchell recorded seven rebounds and six assists in his last road tilt against the Knicks, and SportsLine’s model is projecting him to finish with 9.2 rebounds + assists against New York in Game 1.
Mikal Bridges, Knicks, Over 15.5 points + rebounds
Bridges was a major factor in New York’s success against the 76ers in the last round of the playoffs. The 29-year-old averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds against Philadelphia, and he enters tonight’s contest having scored 17 or more points in four of his last five postseason appearances. The SportsLine Projection Model is expecting him to exceed his point + rebound total on Tuesday, projecting that Bridges will finish with 19.4 points + rebounds on average.
