Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Lakers vs. Timberwolves 4/27/25
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
April 27, 2025 3:30 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a Western Conference playoff matchup featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers 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 pots. 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 Timberwolves vs. Lakers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Julius Randle, Power Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves $9,000
Veteran power forward Julius Randle has been a standout performer for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Let’s review Randle’s relevant game data from this season (including playoff games) to better shed light on his overall contributions to his team.
In the 72 games that power forward Julius Randle has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season (including playoff games), Randle is averaging 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 0.7 steals a contest.
It is noteworthy that these two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Julius Randle perform in the most recent matchup? In the Minnesota Timberwolves dominant 116-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers two days ago, Julius Randle played rather well. More specifically, Randle amassed 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in the Timberwolves defeat of the Lakers.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Timberwolves victory over the Lakers, Randle tallied 35.8 Draftkings points. Considering the elevated importance of this afternoon’s Western Conference playoff game, I fully expect Julius Randle to play at a high level.
In my opinion, Julius Randle’s reasonable Draftkings price of only $9,000 presents the best fantasy value on this NBA slate. For that specific reason, I am backing Julius Randle at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Anthony Edwards, Guard, Minnesota Timberwolves $11,000
Veteran guard Anthony Edwards has been the floor general that the Minnesota Timberwolves have needed to win games this season. With that said, how has Edwards performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s examine Edwards game data from the 2024 NBA season to answer that question.
In the 82 games that guard Anthony Edwards has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 NBA regular season, Edwards is averaging 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 82 games that Anthony Edwards has played for the Timberwolves this season, Edwards compiled a 44.7% field goal percentage, a 39.5% three-point percentage and an 83.7% free throw percentage.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Luka Doncic, Point Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $12,800: Austin Reaves, Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $8,600: Naz Reid, Forward (Minnesota Timberwolves) $6,800.
