Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Cavaliers vs. Celtics 5/9/24

The NBA presents a playoff matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics 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.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics matchup.

Draftkings Picks

Captain-Jaylen Brown $14,700

The Boston Celtics enter tonight’s game with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Having stated that, Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown is a big reason why the Boston Celtics were able to attain the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.

How important has Jaylen Brown been to the Boston Celtics this postseason? Let’s take a look at Brown’s recent game statistics to answer that question. In the Celtics last five games played (all playoff games), Brown has averaged an impressive 24.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 0.8 steals a game.

Looking at the data just presented more closely I observed that in the Boston Celtics six Eastern Conference playoff games played this season, Jaylen Brown has averaged 38.8 Draftkings points a game.

Tonight, Jaylen Brown will face a Cleveland Cavaliers defense that struggled to defend the small forward position in the regular season. Upon the completion of 82 games in the 2024 NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers ranked a rather low 24th in total Draftkings points allowed (42.7) to the small forward position a game.

Considering the elevated importance of this evening’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, I expect talented Boston forward Jaylen Brown to play his best game of the 2024 playoffs. For the reasons just noted, I am backing Jaylen Brown as my captain for this one game slate.

Flex Plays

Evan Mobley $9,200

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley has an opportunity to be a key contributor in the paint for this Cavaliers team in this evening’s matchup with the Boston Celtics. Why? Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is out for tonight’s game due to injury. The unfortunate injury to Porzingis should allow Cleveland forward Evan Mobley to flourish in the paint.

Keep in mind that Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is listed as questionable for tonight’s game. I personally don’t think Allen plays tonight. If Allen were to play, that would alter my decision to back Evan Mobley. However, I recommend that all readers pay close attention to the official injury reports released by both teams prior to setting your lineup for this slate later today.

Jayson Tatum $11,000

Since the beginning of April, the Boston Celtics have played 11 games. In those ten games just noted (including playoff games), Jayson Tatum has averaged a robust 43.8 Draftkings points a game. It has to be said, those are some outstanding offensive numbers from the Boston Celtics forward.

Additional flex plays I like (Draftkings price noted): Donovan Mitchell $10,400: Derrick White $8,400: Jrue Holiday $7,200: Isaac Okoro $4,000.