Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Magic vs. Cavaliers 3/16/25

Tomorrow afternoon, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game let’s review the rules for 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 tomorrow’s Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic matchup.

Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks

Captain-Paolo Banchero, Forward, Orlando Magic $11,000

Forward Paolo Banchero has certainly been an essential part of the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup this season. Banchero’s versatility and consistent performances have made him a key player for the Magic. Let’s take a look at the talented forward’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season to better shed light on my previous statement.

In the 34 games that Paolo Banchero has played for the Magic this season, Banchero is averaging a robust 25.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks a game.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 34 games that Banchero has played this season, Paolo Banchero has compiled a 45.1% field goal percentage, a 32.3% three-point percentage and a 70.9% free throw percentage.

More recently, in the Toronto Raptors thrilling 114-113 win over the Orlando Magic two days ago, Orlando forward Paolo Banchero tallied a massive 41 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, one block and four steals. What did we learn from the data just presented? Clearly, Paolo Banchero can post a high number of DFS points on any given night. I fully expect that trend to continue in tomorrow afternoon’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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.

In my view, Paolo Banchero is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.

Flex Plays

Donovan Mitchell, Guard, Cleveland Cavaliers $10,600

Guard Donovan Mitchell has been the driving force behind the Cleveland Cavaliers overall team achievements this season.

In the 54 games that Donovan Mitchell played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2024 NBA regular season, Mitchell has averaged a whopping 40.5 Draftkings points a game.

Last month, in the Cleveland Cavaliers 134-124 victory over the Washington Wizards, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell certainly played at a high level. Let me be more specific. In the Cavaliers win over the Wizards just mentioned, Mitchell compiled 33 points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Additional flex plays I like to play well (Draftkings price noted): Darius Garland, Point Guard (Cleveland Cavaliers) $9,800: De’Andre Hunter, Forward (Clevland Cavaliers) $6,800.