Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Pacers vs. Knicks 5/23/25

Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with an Eastern Conference playoff matchup featuring the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Indiana Pacers 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-Karl-Anthony Towns, Center, New York Knicks $9,800

Veteran center Karl-Anthony Towns has certainly been an essential part of the New York Knicks starting lineup this season. To evaluate Karl-Anthony Towns performance from a statistical perspective, let’s examine Towns relevant game data from the 2024 NBA season. This will provide a clear picture of Karl-Anthony Towns overall contributions to the New York Knicks this season.

In the 85 games that center Karl-Anthony Towns played for the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Towns is averaging 23.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks a game.

Examining the data just presented more closely, in the 85 games that Karl-Anthony Towns has played for the New York Knicks this season, Towns has compiled a 52.6% field goal percentage, a 42% three-point percentage and an 82.9% free throw percentage.

It is noteworthy that these two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Anthony Towns perform in the most recent matchup? Who won? In the Indiana Pacers thrilling 138-135 win over the New York Knicks two days ago. Anthony Towns amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal, making 11 of 17 shots from the field.

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 my view, Karl-Anthony Towns is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA playoff game. With that said, I am backing New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA single game contest.

Flex Plays

Pascal Siakam, Forward, Indiana Pacers $8,200

In the 89 games that power forward Pascal Siakam has played for the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games), Siakam has averaged 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks a game.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 89 games that Pascal Siakam has played for the Pacers this season, Siakam is averaging a robust 36.8 Draftkings points a contest.

In conclusion, I fully expect Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam to continue his outstanding play in tonight’s matchup with the New York Knicks.

Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Josh Hart, Forward (New York Knicks) $8,400: Tyrese Haliburton, Point Guard (Indiana Pacers) $10,200: Myles Turner, Center (Indiana Pacers) $7,600.