This Thursday, NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks 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 Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Giannis Antetokounmpo, Forward, Milwaukee Bucks $13,400
Talented forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a standout performer for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. With that said, how has the veteran forward played from a statistical standpoint? Let’s take a look at Antetokounmpo’s relevant game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 52 games that Antetokounmpo has played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Antetokounmpo is averaging a massive 30.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, Antetokounmpo has compiled a 60.5% field goal percentage, an 18.6% three-point percentage and a 59.4% free throw percentage.
Last week, in the Milwaukee Bucks dominant 137-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly played at a high level. Let me be more specific. Antetokounmpo accumulated a massive 32 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in the Milwaukee Bucks win over the Dallas Mavericks.
What did we learn from the data just presented? Clearly, Giannis Antetokounmpo can post a high number of Draftkings points on any given night. I fully expect that trend to continue in tonight’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In my view, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Antetokounmpo at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Damian Lillard, Guard, Milwaukee Bucks $10,600
Point guard Damian Lillard has been the floor general that the Milwaukee Bucks have needed to win games this season. Let’s dive into Lillard’s relevant player data to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 54 games that point guard Damian Lillard has played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Lillard is averaging 25.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.2 steals a game.
It is noteworthy that the Milwaukee Bucks have listed Damian Lillard as questionable for this evening’s contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in tonight’s NBA regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Luka Doncic, Point Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $13,600: Austin Reaves, Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $9,000: Brook Lopez, Center (Milwaukee Bucks) $6,600.