Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Celtics vs. Knicks 5/11/25
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks
May 12, 2025 7:30 pm EDT
This Monday night, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with an Eastern Conference playoff matchup featuring the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks 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 New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Jayson Tatum, Forward, Boston Celtics $11,600
Forward Jayson Tatum has been the driving force behind the Boston Celtics success on the basketball court this season. Let’s review the veteran forward’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season to better shed light on Tatum’s overall contributions to his team.
In the 85 games that Jayson Tatum has played for the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Tatum is averaging 26.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 85 games that Jayson Tatum has played this season, Tatum has compiled a 45.2% field goal percentage, a 34.3% three-point percentage and an 81.4% free throw percentage.
These two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Tatum perform in the most recent matchup? Who prevailed? In the Boston Celtics convincing 115-93 victory over the New York Knicks two days ago, Boston forward Jayson Tatum certainly played at a high level. Tatum amassed 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals Celtics defeat of the New York Knicks.
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 summary, I think Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA playoff 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
Derrick White, Guard, Boston Celtics $8,600
In the 81 games that guard Derrick White has played for the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA season, White has averaged 16.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
Examining the data just presented more closely, in the 81 games that Derrick White has played this season, White is averaging a rather impressive 34.4 Draftkings points a game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Karl-Anthony Towns, Center (New York Knicks) $9,600: Josh Hart, Forward (New York Knicks) $8,400: Mikal Bridges, Guard (New York Knicks) $8,000.
