Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Heat vs. Cavaliers 4/23/25
Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
April 23, 2025 7:30 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a playoff matchup featuring the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 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 Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Donovan Mitchell, Guard, Cleveland Cavaliers $10,200
Guard Donovan Mitchell has been a standout performer for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. With that said, how has the talented guard performed from a statistical standpoint? Let’s examine Mitchell’s relevant game data from the 2024 NBA season to answer that question.
In the 71 games that Donovan Mitchell played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Mitchell has averaged 24.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 71 games that Donovan Mitchell has played this season, Mitchell has compiled a 44.3% field goal percentage, a 36.8% three-point percentage, and an 82.8% free throw percentage.
These two teams met three days ago. Who won? How did Donovan Mitchell perform in the contest? In the Cleveland Cavaliers dominant 121-100 win over the Miami Heat, Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell amassed 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and four three steals.
What did we learn? The data just presented clearly illustrates that Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell can post a high number of DFS points on any given night. I fully expect that trend to continue in tonight’s playoff matchup with the Miami Heat.
In my view, Donovan Mitchell is the player most likely to accumulate the highest number of DraftKings points in this NBA playoff game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell at the captain position for this one game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest slate.
Flex Plays
Bam Adebayo, Center, Miami Heat $10,400
Veteran center Bam Adebayo has certainly been an essential part of the Miami Heat starting lineup this season. Let’s review Adebayo’s game data from this season to better shed light on my previous statement.
In 79 games that forward Bam Adebayo has played for the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA regular season, Adebayo is averaging 18.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo to continue his outstanding play in this evening’s Eastern Conference playoff game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Tyler Herro, Point Guard (Miami Heat) $9,800: Ty Jerome, Point Guard (Cleveland Cavaliers) $4,800: Kel’el Ware, Center (Miami Heat) $6,000.
