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 Saturday’s Starting 5 slate, there are seven games.
DEN, HOU, IND, MEM, MIA and SAS are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Aaron Wiggins, Yves Missi and Delon Wright are questionable. Josh Giddey is doubtful. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Jalen Brunson and Bilal Coulibaly are out. Keep track of all the pertinent injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there are two double-digit favorites: HOU -10 over CHI and DEN -15.5 over WAS. There is no game within 3 points. There are five games with a total of at least 230: OKC/DET (233.5), MIA/MEM (230), IND/MIL (238.5), CHI/HOU (231.5) and WAS/DEN (237.5). There is no game below 220.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $10K Zone [$2K to 1st] (Early).
Point Guard
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in the MVP conversation primarily because he’s the preeminent getter of buckets, and that translates into fantasy goodies. But he’s not just a scorer, he dishes out dimes, grabs rebounds and racks up defensive stats. In addition, Jalen Williams has been ruled. With Williams off the court this season, SGA has seen a 3% usage rate bump to over 38%.
Shooting Guard
With Jimmy Butler no longer in Miami, it’s been Tyler Herro who has stepped into the alpha role on offense. He’s garnering a 28% usage rate on the season. Herro is playing in the high-30s to low-40s at times and has put up over 44 FPTS in three of the last four games, with a high of 53.5 FPTS. Memphis is sixth in pace over the last 10 games.
Small Forward
Zion Williamson should feast on the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs, who have been dead-last in defensive rating over the last 10 games. Zion has put up over 50 FPTS in two of the last five games, and another 50-burger is well within the range of outcomes.
Power Forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo has a red Q next to his name, but he’s officially probable for Saturday. With no price considerations, it’s tough not clicking on Antetokounmpo’s name because his floor game is a ceiling one for everyone else.
Center
We can chop this position down to three players. Chet Holmgren is out. Nikola Vucevic won’t play 30 minutes. Now that I think about it, can probably cut it down to two because I see Karl-Anthony Towns struggling against Golden State. So it’s an easy choice between Alperen Sengun and Jalen Duren. Sengun has the higher ceiling because he garners a higher usage rate, plays more minutes and scores in a variety of ways.
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.
