Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Raptors vs. Knicks 1/8/25
Draftkings picks and predictions for this evening's Raptors vs. Knicks matchup.
Toronto Raptors vs. New York Knicks
January 8, 2025 7:30 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.
Before we dive into the Toronto Raptors vs. New York Knicks 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 tonight’s New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Karl Anthony Towns, Center, New York Knicks $10,400
Center Karl Anthony Towns has undoubtedly been a solid player for New York Knicks season. With that said, how has Towns played from a statistical perspective in 2024? Let’s take a look at Towns game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 34 games that center Karl Anthony Towns played for the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Anthony Towns is averaging 25.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 34 games that Karl Anthony Towns has played for the New York Knicks this season, Towns is averaging a massive 52.5 Draftkings points a game.
More recently, in the Chicago Bulls thrilling 139-126 win over the New York Knicks four days ago, Karl Anthony Towns certainly played at a high level. Let me be more specific. Towns compiled a whopping 44 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and one steal in the Chicago Bulls 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 Friday night’s NBA regular season game.
In my view, Karl Anthony Towns is the player most likely to score the highest Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing talented New York Knicks center Karl Anthony Towns at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA DFS Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Jalen Brunson, Point Guard, New York Knicks $9,800
In addition to center Karl Anthony Towns, point guard Jalen Brunson has been a key contributor to the New York Knicks success on the offensive side of the basketball this season. Let’s review Brunson’s recent game data to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 36 games that point guard Jalen Brunson has played for the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Brunson is averaging a robust 42.4 Draftkings points a game.
Additional flex plays I like in this matchup (Draftkings price noted): Scottie Barnes, Forward (Toronto Raptors) $10,000: Josh Hart, Small Forward (New York Knicks) $8,400.
