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Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Bucks vs. Pacers 12/31/24
Draftkings picks and predictions for tonight's Bucks vs. Pacers matchup.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers
December 31, 2024 3:00 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks 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 this evening’s Indiana Pacers vs. Milwaukee Bucks matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Giannis Antetokounmpo, Forward, Milwaukee Bucks $11,600
How important has forward Giannis Antetokounmpo been to the Milwaukee Bucks success this season? Let’s take a look at Antetokounmpo’s game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 24 games that Antetokounmpo has played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Antetokounmpo is averaging a massive 60.3 Draftkings points a game.
More recently, in the Milwaukee Bucks 127-120 win over the Detroit Pistons last month, Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly played at a high level. More specifically, Antetokounmpo accumulated a whopping 59 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, and two steals in the Bucks victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Examining the data just presented more closely, Giannis Antetokounmpo compiled a massive 97.5 DraftKings points in the Milwaukee Bucks victory over the Detroit Pistons.
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.
In my opinion, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Antetokounmpo at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Pascal Siakam, Forward, Indiana Pacers $8,000
In the 33 games that Pascal Siakam has played for the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA regular season, Siakam is averaging an impressive 33.8 Draftkings points a game.
Two days ago, in the Indiana Pacers convincing 123-114 win over the Boston Celtics, Pascal Siakam played exceptionally well. Let me be more specific. Siakam accumulated 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block in the Indiana Pacers victory over the Celtics.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Indiana Pacers victory over the Boston Celtics just mentioned, forward Pascal Siakam compiled 43.5 Draftkings points. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select at the flex position for a Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Additional flex plays I like to play well this evening (Draftkings price noted): Tyrese Haliburton, Point Guard (Indiana Pacers) $8,600: Brook Lopez, Center (Milwaukee Bucks) $6,600.