
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Pacers vs. Pistons 1/16/25
Draftkings picks and predictions for tonight's Pacers vs. Pistons matchup.
Indiana Pacers vs. Detroit Pistons
January 16, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers game let’s review the rules for 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 this evening’s Indiana Pacers vs. Detroit Pistons matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Cade Cunningham, Point Guard, Detroit Pistons $12,200
Point guard Cade Cunningham has been a standout performer for the Detroit Pistons this season. With that said, how has Cunningham played from a statistical perspective in the 2024 NBA regular season?
In the 36 games that Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA regular season, Cunningham has averaged an impressive 24.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 36 games that Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons this season, Cunningham is averaging 50.6 Draftkings points a game. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
More recently, in the Detroit Pistons thrilling 124-119 win over the New York Knicks three days ago, Cunningham played exceptionally well. Let me be more specific. Cunningham tallied 36 points, two rebounds, four assists and one steal in the Detroit Pistons victory over the New York Knicks.
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 for this one game DFS slate.
In my view, Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is the most likely candidate to score the highest DraftKings points in this evening’s NBA regular season game. Consequently, I am selecting Cade Cunningham at the captain spot in tonight’s one game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Pascal Siakam, Forward, Indiana Pacers $9,000
In the 41 games that Pascal Siakam has played for the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA regular season, Siakam is averaging an impressive 36.8 Draftkings points a game.
Last month, in the Indiana Pacers 123-114 win over the Boston Celtics, Pascal Siakam played rather well. Siakam accumulated 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block in the Indiana Pacers victory over the Celtics.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Indiana Pacers victory over the Boston Celtics just mentioned, forward Pascal Siakam compiled 43.5 Draftkings points.
Additional flex plays I like to play well this evening (Draftkings price noted): Tyrese Haliburton, Point Guard (Indiana Pacers) $10,200: Tobias Harris, Forward (Detroit Pistons) $8,000.