Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Pacers vs. Celtics 12/27/24
Draftkings picks and predictions for this evening's Pacers vs. Celtics matchup.
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics
December 27, 2024 7:30 pm EDT
On Friday night, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for tonight’s Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Jayson Tatum, Forward, Boston Celtics $10,600
Talented forward Jayson Tatum has been the leader in the paint that the Boston Celtics have needed to win games this season. Having stated that, how has Tatum played from a statistical perspective in 2024? Let’s take a look at Tatum’s game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 27 games that Jayson Tatum has played for the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA regular season, Tatum is averaging a robust 28.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks a game.
Looking the data just presented more closely, in the 27 games that Jayson Tatum has played for the Boston Celtics this season, Tatum is averaging 54.1 Draftkings points a game. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups for this DFS contest.
In summary, I think Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this evening’s NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Jayson Tatum at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA single game contest.
Flex Plays
Jaylen Brown, Forward, Boston Celtics $8,600
In addition to Jayson Tatum, forward Jaylen Brown has certainly been a key contributor to the Boston Celtics lineup this season.
In the 25 games that Jaylen Brown has played for the Celtics in the 2024 NBA regular season, Jaylen Brown is averaging a massive 41.5 Draftkings points a game.
Earlier this month, in the Boston Celtics dominating 108-89 win over the Miami Heat, Jaylen Brown certainly played at a high level. Brown compiled 29 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in the Celtics victory over the Miami Heat.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Tyrese Haliburton, Point Guard (Indiana Pacers) $8,800: Pascal Siakam, Forward (Indiana Pacers) $8,200.
