Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Pistons vs. Magic 1/25/25
Breaking down the best Draftkings picks for this evening's Pistons vs. Magic matchup.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic
January 25, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons 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 Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Cade Cunningham, Point Guard, Detroit Pistons $11,000
Point guard Cade Cunningham has certainly been a standout performer for the Detroit Pistons this season. Let’s dive into Cunningham’s game data from this season to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 40 games that Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA regular season, Cunningham has averaged 24.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 40 games that Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons this season, Cunningham is averaging 50.5 Draftkings points a game.
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, Cade Cunningham appears to be the player most likely to accumulate the highest number of DraftKings points in tonight’s NBA regular season game. Consequently, I am selecting Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham at the captain position for this single game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Paolo Banchero, Power Forward, Orlando Magic $9,400
Forward Paolo Banchero has certainly been a standout performer for the Orlando Magic this season. Having stated that, how has the talented power forward played from a statistical perspective? Let’s examine Banchero’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 12 games that forward Paolo Banchero has played for the Orlando Magic in the 2024 NBA regular season, Banchero is averaging 43.5 Draftkings points a game.
More recently, in the Toronto Raptors 109-93 win over the Orlando Magic two days ago, Paolo Banchero played exceptionally well. Let me be more specific. Banchero compiled 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and one block in the Toronto Raptors victory over the Orlando Magic.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Toronto Raptors win over the Orlando Magic just mentioned, Paolo Banchero accumulated 46.5 Draftkings points.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Tobias Harris, Power Forward (Detroit Pistons) $6,800: Wendell Carter Jr., Center (Orlando Magic) $7,200.
