Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Timberwolves vs. Lakers 4/22/25
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers
April 22, 2025 10:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a Western Conference playoff matchup featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers 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 pots. 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 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Luka Doncic, Point Guard, Los Angeles Lakers $12,800
Unless you have been living under a rock the last decade you are aware that Luka Doncic is a generational basketball talent. With that said, how has the veteran point guard performed from a statistical standpoint this season? Let’s review Doncic’s relevant game data from the 2024 NBA season to answer that question.
In the 51 games that point guard Luka Doncic has played in the 2024 NBA season, Doncic is averaging a massive 28.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.4 blocks a game.
Upon closer examination of the data just presented, in the 51 games that point guard Luka Doncic has played this season, Doncic has compiled a 43.8% field goal percentage, 37.9% three-point percentage and a 79.1% free throw percentage.
These two teams met two days ago. Who prevailed? How did Luka Doncic perform in the contest? In the Minnesota Timberwolves convincing 117-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks three days ago, Los Angeles point guard Luka Doncic amassed 37 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block. The data just presented clearly illustrates that Lakers point guard Luka Doncic can post a high number of DFS points on any given night.
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. Remember to keep that in mind as you construct lineups.
In my view, Luka Doncic is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA playoff game. With that said, I am backing Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Austin Reaves, Guard, Los Angeles Lakers $8,800
In addition to point guard Luka Doncic, guard Austin Reaves has been a key contributor to the Los Angeles Lakers team achievements this season.
In 73 the games that Austin Reaves has played for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, Reaves has averaged a robust 37.5 Draftkings points a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect that Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves will continue his outstanding play in tonight’s Western Conference playoff game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this game (Draftkings price noted): Lebron James, Forward (Los Angeles Lakers) $11,400: Anthony Edwards, Guard (Minnesota Timberwolves) $10,800: Naz Reid, Forward (Minnesota Timberwolves) $7,400.
