DraftKings, your paradise of DFS nirvana, has done it again with a new contest called NBA Starting 5. You select one point guard, one shooting guard, one small forward, one power forward and one center. There is no salary cap. The only stipulation is that you must select players from at least two different teams.
For Monday’s Starting 5 slate, there are nine games.
CHA and MIN are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, D’Angelo Russell, Mike Conley, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kyshawn George and Mouhamed Gueye are questionable. Jalen Suggs is doubtful. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are out. Keep track of all the pertinent injury updates at DK Live.
CHA, GSW, MIL, NOP, OKC, DAL, POR, DEN, UTA and LAL have not submitted their injury reports yet.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there are three games with a double-digit favorite: SAS -12 over WAS, OKC -14.5 over NOP and LAL -13.5 over UTA. The tighest spread is BKN -2.5 over CHA. There are five games with a total of at least 230: SAS/WAS (234.5), GSW/MIL (232.5), NOP/OKC (233.5), POR/DEN (233.5) and UTA/LAL (233). There is one game with a total below 220: CHA/BKN (214.5).
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $15K Zone [$5K to 1st] (Early).
Point Guard
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only put up 49.5 and 40.5 FPTS in the last two games. Boo hoo. Prior to that, he contributed 74.5, 63.25 and 81.5 FPTS over a span of seven games. While he doesn’t have the floor/ceiling combo of a Nikola Jokic, it’s still pretty, pretty good for SGA. Now he gets a matchup against a Pelicans team that has been second in pace and dead-last in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Shooting Guard
I often worry about Donovan Mitchell because the Cavs are too good and he doesn’t always play a full set of minutes. Anthony Edwards is questionable for this matchup, which increases the blowout risk some, but I think Mitchell still does his thing because the Timberwolves are still a tough team.
Small Forward
Jimmy Butler played 29 minutes in his Warriors debut on Saturday and put up 37 FPTS. I think he gets over 30 minutes in this one and he should be a little more comfortable with his new teammates. The biggest thing has been all the space he’s been able to operate with due to the shooters surrounding him and the off-ball movement. Butler scored 25 points on Saturday but only contributed two rebounds and four assists. I expect more production in those categories.
Power Forward
Miles Bridges has put up at least 40 FPTS in seven of the last eight games, with a high of 56 FPTS. LaMelo Ball was out for five of those contests and he could be sitting once again, as he was out on Sunday, the first leg of a back-to-back. If so, more of the offensive onus will be on his shoulders.
Center
Nikola Jokic is on the slate so you click his name. Don’t get cute. He has the highest floor/ceiling combo in the game by a wide margin. Sure, it’s happened that he’s disappointed a few times this season and others have scored more than him on occassion, but more often than not, Jokic makes a mockery of the field.
What is the DraftKings NBA Starting 5 Game Style?
- The Fantasy Sports NBA Starting 5 Game Style is a type of contest in which participants draft lineups by selecting one point guard, one shooting guard, one small forward, one power forward and one center. NBA Starting 5 is scored the same way as classic NBA DFS contests.
Important Information:
- Fantasy Sports NBA Starting 5 contests require no salary cap balancing.
- NBA Starting 5 contests span multiple games, and Fantasy Sports participants must select athletes from at least two different teams.
- Participants will see all five positions on the draft screen and must pick one athlete per position.
