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 Thursday’s Starting 5 slate, there are five games.
DAL, GSW, HOU, LAC, MIA, MIN, NOP, OKC, SAC and UTA are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, all the teams are playing the second leg of a back-to-back, so injury reports haven’t been submitted. Keep track of all the pertinent injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, HOU is -1 over GSW at home with the total at 220.5. MIA is -1.5 over DAL on the road with the total at 221.5. OKC is -4.5 over MIN on the road with the total at 219.5. LAC is -7.5 over UTA on the road with the total at 225.5. The SAC/NOP game is not up yet.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $10K Zone [$2K to 1st] (Early).
Point Guard
I do like Malik Monk tonight, especially since the matchup is a fantasy-friendly one. But since price is no consideration, I’m going with James Harden because his matchup is also a good one and the chances for a ceiling game are higher than for Monk. Utah has been 27th in defensive rating over the last 10 contests. Harden has dished out 17 and 10 dimes over the last two games while scoring 23 and 22 points. Harden just faced Utah on Saturday and put up 55 FPTS.
Shooting Guard
The matchup for Anthony Edwards is a bad one, as the Thunder are one of the best defensive teams in the league. They held him to 34.25 FPTS the last time these teams met. Plus, Edwards is also questionable. Norman Powell has been a bastion of consistency, putting up at least 30 FPTS in each of the last 11 games with three of those over 40 FPTS. As mentioned above, the Jazz have been a good matchup for fantasy. Powell put up 33.75 FPTS against Utah on Saturday.
Small Forward
Trey Murphy III has put up at least 40 FPTS in each of the last six games, with three of those over 50 FPTS. Zion Williamson is questionable and Murphy has been one of the key offensive cogs without Dejounte Murray and Brandon Ingram. Sacramento has been ninth in pace and 25th in defensive rating over the last 10 games. There should be plenty of fantasy goodies in this one.
Power Forward
Bam Adebayo has put up at least 30 FPTS in each of the last nine games with two of those over 50 and a high of 69.5 FPTS. With no Jimmy Butler, he’s definitely stepped up and been more aggressive on the offensive end of the court. Now, he faces a Dallas team that has been decimated by injuries to their frontcourt with Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford all sidelined.
Center
Domantas Sabonis leads the league with 47 double-doubles and has eight triple-doubles to his name on the season. He put up 51 FPTS against New Orleans on Saturday and should continue to feast on their center rotation of Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic.
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.
