Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with an NBA regular season matchup featuring the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 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 Raptors vs. Cavaliers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Donovan Mitchell, Guard, Cleveland Cavaliers $12,000
Veteran guard Donovan Mitchell has been a standout performer for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. With that said, how has Mitchell performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s review Mitchell’s relevant game data from the 2025 NBA season to better shed light on the talented guard’s overall contributions to his team.
In the ten games that guard Donovan Mitchell has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 NBA regular season, Mitchell has averaged 30.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.4 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the ten games that Donovan Mitchell has played this season, Mitchell has compiled a 51% field goal percentage, a 40.4% three-point percentage, and an 84.4% free throw percentage.
More recently, in the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-121 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers six days ago, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell certainly played at a high level. More specifically, in the Cavaliers win over the 76ers, Mitchell tallied 46 points, four rebounds, eight assists and one steal.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Cavaliers defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell amassed a robust 67 Draftkings points.
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 opinion, Donovan Mitchell is the player most likely to accumulate the highest number of DraftKings points in this NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell at the captain position for this one game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest slate.
Flex Plays
Jarrett Allen, Center, Cleveland Cavaliers $8,400
In addition to Donovan Mitchell, center Jarrett Allen has been a key contributor for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
In the ten games that Jarrett Allen has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 NBA regular season, Allen has averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Evan Mobley, Forward (Cleveland Cavaliers) $11,200: Scottie Barnes, Forward (Toronto Raptors) $11,000: RJ Barrett, Forward (Toronto Raptors) $9,200: Tyrese Proctor, Guard (Cleveland Cavaliers) $1,200.