The 2026 Eastern Conference Finals begin Tuesday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks in Game 1.
With elite fantasy producers on both sides and pricing that forces tough choices, finding the right Captain play and identifying undervalued contributors will be critical for DraftKings Showdown success.
In this breakdown, we’ll highlight the best Cavaliers vs Knicks DraftKings Showdown picks, including top Captain candidates, value plays, lineup-building strategies, and players who could outperform their salaries.
Whether you’re entering large-field GPPs or smaller single-entry contests, these are the NBA DFS targets to consider for Tuesday’s showdown slate. Let’s build.
Best DraftKings Showdown Captain Picks
- KAT ($10.8k)
- Jalen Brunson ($10.2k)
- Donovan Mitchell ($10.4k)
- James Harden ($10k)
The best Captain plays all cost over $10k. Wemby made the list last night and you definitely needed him. If I had to guess, you probably need to have one of these dudes in the CPT slot.
I am leaving out Evan Mobley, who is a better value than all of these guys in theory, but has the worst matchup of the group. He is still a fine dollar for dollar play and our tool does like him. If you want a good tool that combines projections and sims and points you to the best lineups, try ours for free for 7 days.
Mobley grades out as the 3rd best play on the board, but the best way to attack the Knicks is from outside. Harden and Spida could really benefit from this matchup and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them float under the radar slightly.
KAT and Brunson both look good as well, and they’ll carry some ownership with this game being at home. I think Brunson sets up a bit better in this matchup, but I like both quite a bit. We’ll see where Captain ownership lands later in the day, but for the spend ups, right now I like Brunson and Harden the most.
Best GPP Picks for Cavs vs. Knicks Game 1
- Josh Hart ($7.8k)
- OG Anunoby ($7.4k)
- Max Strus ($6k)
Hart is a terrific do-it-all guy that we tend to target in regular DFS lineups, but is likely to go overlooked in a Showdown setting.
There is a big drop off in terms of projection after Harden, but Hart is the next guy and we know he offers a solid ceiling and could push for 40 minutes in a close game. I think in terms of price he is an amazing pivot off of what could be a popular Mobley.
OG is a similar play, as he’s just $400 cheaper than Hart. I prefer Hart’s game to OG’s for this matchup, but when he’s clicking Anonuby can rack up defensive stats and score inside with ease. He’s been banged up, but he was very good last series and could keep it rolling tonight.
My favorite contrarian Captain pick is Strus, though. He’s going to push for 30 minutes in a competitive game and he’s displayed a ceiling at times in the playoffs. More importantly, he is Cleveland’s most reliable cheap option and his best asset (outside shooting) sets up beautifully in this matchup.
If Strus can catch fire and also hit the glass like he’s capable of, he could smash. He’s cheap enough to open things up so we can load up the Flex spot, too.
Top Value Plays for Tuesday Night
- Mitch Robinson ($4.4k)
- Dennis Schroder ($3k)
- Sam Merrill ($4k)
- Miles McBride ($5k)
You can always try other punts, but these are the ones I’d be playing first. Mitch is a dice roll, as the Knicks never seem to want to max his minutes. Perhaps given Cleveland’s size they’ll offer him a longer leash. I like the idea of being over on him early in case they do that and the field misses out.
Schroder and Merrill both get solid run and can dominate in this series potentially. Schroder is the better value, but riskier in general when it comes to burn and production. I prefer Merrill, who was lights out in 25 minutes in their series-clinching win over the Pistons.
McBride is one of the best values of the slate. The floor can be low, but he was fantastic in his last game against Boston and he could keep it going here at home in game one.
Dollar for dollar, Merrill is my favorite value to Captain or be far over the field on in the Flex.
Playing DFS since the days of DraftStreet, Kevin knows the ins and outs of DFS, specifically for NFL and NBA. He’s also been helping people win in fantasy football leagues for 15+ years and is one of many experts featured at FantasyPros.
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