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 Friday’s Starting 5 slate, there are six games.
CLE, MEM, MIL, NYK, ORL and SAS are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, PJ Washington, Yves Missi and Mike Conley are questionable. Dwight Powell is doubtful. Malcolm Brogdon is out. Keep track of all the pertinent injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, CLE is -6.5 over NYK at home with the total at 240. MEM is -3 over ORL on the road with the total at 222.5. MIA is -3 over TOR on the road with the total at 220.5. DAL is -5.5 over NOP at home with the total at 235.5. The MIL/WAS and DET/SAS games are not on the board yet.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $8K Zone [$2K to 1st] (Early).
Point Guard
Cade Cunningham has been balling out, putting up at least 40 FPTS in each of the last eight games with six of those over 50 and a high of 69.25 FPTS. Now he gets a matchup against a Spurs team that has been third in pace since acquiring De’Aaron Fox and will likely have one of the worst defenses without Victor Wembanyama patrolling the paint. That’s a recipe for lots of fantasy goodies.
Shooting Guard
With Wembanyama off the court this season, Chris Paul saw the biggest usage bump of around 6%. Most of that was without De’Aaron Fox, so it will likely be Fox garnering most of the vacated usage left behind by Wembanyama’s injury. As mentioned above, the Spurs now play fast and the Pistons will likely be putting up points in this one, forcing the Spurs to respond aggressively.
Small Forward
Since returning from injury, I thought the usage rate would decrease for Franz Wagner with Paolo Banchero healthy. Instead, it’s increased by two percentage points to 34%. Over the last 11 games, Wagner has put up at least 40 FPTS six times, with two of those over 50 FPTS. Now he faces a Memphis team that has been second in pace and 18th in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Power Forward
Since arriving in Milwaukee, Kyle Kuzma has put up 22.75, 33.5, 27.5 and 42.75 FPTS. Giannis Antetokounmpo played on Thursday in limited fashion, so he may not get a full complement of minutes in the second leg of a back-to-back. In addition, Bobby Portis is suspended for 25 games, so Kuzma will likely see an uptick in usage rate and play in the mid-to-high 30s. Oh, he also faces his former team that plays fast and eschews defense, a good combination for fantasy.
Center
Jalen Duren has put up over 40 FPTS in three of the last four games. Now he gets a matchup against a Spurs team that will likely play fast and be without Wembanyama in the middle.
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.
