New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons
April 27, 2025 1:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with an Eastern Conference playoff matchup featuring the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Detroit Pistons 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 afternoon’s New York vs. Detroit matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Jalen Brunson, Point Guard, New York Knicks $10,800
Veteran point guard Jalen Brunson has been the floor general that the New York Knicks have needed to win games this season. Let’s examine Brunson’s game data from this season (including playoff games) to shed light on the talented point guard’s overall contributions to his team.
In the 68 games that point guard Jalen Brunson has played for the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA season, Brunson is averaging a robust 26.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 0.9 steals a game.
Examining the data just presented more closely, in the 68 games that Jalen Brunson has played for the New York Knicks this season, Brunson has averaged 43.1 Draftkings points a contest.
These two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Jalen Brunson perform in the most recent matchup? In the New York Knicks thrilling 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons two days ago, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson played exceptionally well. More specifically, Brunson amassed 30 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and one block in the New York Knicks defeat of the Pistons.
What did we learn from the data just presented? Clearly, Jalen Brunson can post a high number of DFS points on any given night. Considering the elevated importance of tomorrow afternoon’s Eastern Conference playoff game I fully expect that trend to continue in this contest.
In my view, Jalen Brunson is the player most likely to accumulate the highest number of DraftKings points in this NBA playoff game. With that said, I am backing New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson at the captain position for this one game DFS NBA Showdown contest slate.
Flex Plays
Cade Cunningham, Point Guard, Detroit Pistons $11,200
In the 73 games that point guard Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Cunningham has averaged 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 73 games that Cade Cummingham has played for the Pistons this season, Cunningham has compiled a 46.9% field goal percentage, a 35.6% three-point percentage and an 84.6% free throw percentage.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Karl-Anthony Towns, Center (New York Knicks) $10,400: Josh Hart, Forward (New York Knicks) $8,600: Jalen Duren, Center (Detroit Pistons) $8,400.
