Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Knicks vs. Celtics 5/7/25

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 tomorrow night’s New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics matchup.

Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks

Captain-Jayson Tatum, Forward, Boston Celtics $11,200

The Boston Celtics arrive in the 2025 NBA playoffs as the number two seed in the Eastern Conference. A big reason why that is the case is Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Let’s review the veteran forward’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season to better shed light on Tatum’s contributions to his team.

In the 83 games that Jayson Tatum has played for the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Tatum is averaging 27.1 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 83 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 won? In the New York Knicks 108-105 victory over the Boston Celtics earlier this week, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum certainly played at a high level. Tatum amassed 23 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in the Knicks defeat of the Boston Celtics.

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 $8,000

In the 79 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 79 games that Derrick White has played this season, White is averaging a rather impressive 34.3 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.