2024 NBA bets, lines and stats for Saturday - ESPN

Saturday's NBA slate features four games that bettors can choose from. The game I'm looking forward to the most is between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. Watching LeBron James face his former team is always entertaining, but the Lakers are also battling for seeding in the Western Conference. Let's dive into my recommendations from this game and others on the slate.

Donovan Mitchell over 22.5 points. Although he's only surpassed this mark in one of his past five games, Mitchell has cleared it in 13 of his past 20 games. The Lakers rank 20th in points allowed per game to shooting guards. The spread suggests that this should be a competitive game, and it also has the highest total on the slate.

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Darius Garland over 4.5 assists. He's eclipsed this line in 16 of his past 20 games. Garland has averaged 11.4 potential assists and 35.0 minutes per game over that time frame. The Lakers rank 18th in assist allowed per game to point guards.

Aaron Gordon to score over 15.5 points. The Hawks rank 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and they also rank 28th in points allowed per game to power forwards. Gordon has surpassed this line in three of his past five games. Despite the Nuggets being double-digit favorites, this line is low enough for Gordon to exceed, particularly at home where he has surpassed this line in 55% of his home games.

Jalen Johnson over 7.5 rebounds. He's cleared this line in four of his past five games and in 70% of his last 20 games. Johnson has averaged 14.5 rebound chances and 35.3 minutes per game over the past 20 games. The Nuggets rank 25th in rebounds allowed per game to power forwards. Also, Onyeka Okongwu has been ruled