Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Hornets vs. Pistons 1/3/25
Draftkings picks and predictions for this evening's Hornets vs. Pistons matchup.
Charlotte Hornets vs. Detroit Pistons
January 3, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets 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 Charlotte Hornets vs. Detroit Pistons matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-LaMelo Ball, Point Guard, Charlotte Hornets $11,400
Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been instrumental to the team’s offensive success this season. To illustrate this point, let’s examine Ball’s recent game statistics from the 2024 NBA regular season.
In the 22 games that LaMelo Ball has played for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024 NBA regular season, Ball has averaged an impressive 30.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.3 steals a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 22 games that LaMelo Ball has played for the Charlotte Hornets this season, Ball is averaging a massive 51.6 Draftkings points a game. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
It is noteworthy that these two teams met previously this season. Who prevailed? How did LaMelo Ball perform in the game? In the Washington Wizards 113-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets last month, Ball played exceptionally well. Let me be more specific. LaMelo tallied 49.1 Draftkings points in the Washington Wizards victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
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, Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball is the most likely candidate to score the highest DraftKings points in this evening’s NBA regular season game. Consequently, I am selecting LaMelo Ball for the captain spot in tonight’s one game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Cade Cunningham, Point Guard, Detroit Pistons $11,600
In the 29 games that point guard Cade Cunningham has played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA regular season, Cunningham has averaged a robust 50.5 Draftkings points a game.
Two days ago, In the Detroit Pistons 105-96 win over the Orlando Magic, Cade Cunningham played at a high level. Cunningham compiled 19 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block in the Detroit Pistons victory over the Orlando Magic.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Tobias Harris, Forward (Detroit Pistons) $6,200: Jalen Duren, Center (Detroit Pistons) $7,600.
