Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Thunder vs. Heat 12/20/24
Draftkings picks and predictions for tonight's Thunder vs. Heat matchup.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
December 20, 2024 8:00 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 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 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Bam Adebayo, Center, Miami Heat $10,200
Talented center Bam Adebayo has been the leader in the paint that the Miami Heat have needed to win basketball games this season. Having stated that, how has Adebayo performed from a statistical perspective this season? Let’s review Adebayo’s game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 24 games that center Bam Adebayo played for the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA regular season, Adebayo averaged a robust 16.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 24 games that center Bam Adebayo has played for the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA regular season, Adebayo is averaging an impressive 41.6 Draftkings points a game.
More recently, in the Miami Heat’s dominating 121-111 win over the Phoenix Suns two weeks ago, Bam Adebayo certainly played at a high level. More specifically, Adebayo compiled a massive 25 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block in the Miami Heat’s victory over the Phoenix Suns.
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.
In my opinion, Bam Adebayo is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this evening’s NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Tyler Herro, Point Guard, Miami Heat $9,400
In addition to Bam Adebayo, point guard Tyler Herro has certainly been a key contributor to the Miami Heat’s offense this season. Let’s review Herro’s recent game data to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 24 games that Tyler Herro has played for the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA regular season, Herro is averaging a respectable 24.1 points. 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 0.8 steals a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect Tyler Herro to continue his outstanding play in this evening’s NBA regular season game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well this evening (Draftkings price noted): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Point Guard (Oklahoma City Thunder) $12,400: Pelle Larsson, Forward (Miami Heat) $1,000.
