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 six games.
BOS, DEN, NOP, PHI and TOR playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Anthony Edwards, Bennedict Mathurin, D’Angelo Russell, Ziaire Williams, Rui Hachimura and Cole Anthony are questionable. Anthony Davis is doubtful. Tre Jones is out.
Keep track of all the pertinent injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there are no double-digit favorites. The biggest spread is NOP -5 over PHI. There are four games with a total of at least 230: MIN/IND (232.5), TOR/WAS (233.5), PHI/NOP (231) and CHI/DEN (237.5). There are two games below 220: LAL/ORL (214) and DAL/BKN (215.5).
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $10K Zone [$2K to 1st].
Point Guard
Over the last 11 games, Josh Giddey has put up over 50 FPTS in all, with three over 60 and a high of 73 FPTS! He’s racked up two triple-doubles over that span while just missing out on a few more. He had eight steals on Saturday! He’s literally doing it all and stuffing the stat sheet like a man that wants a really big bag; something that would make Santa Claus sweat. Denver is 24th in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Shooting Guard
I love that Quentin Grimes is at the bottom of this position. And I hope that both Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray play. Grimes is garnering a 35% usage rate and playing around 35 minutes a game. He’s put up over 40 FPTS in each of the last seven games, with a high of 76.75 FPTS. The matchup is a good one, as New Orleans is dead-last in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Small Forward
Both Giddey and Coby White have been able to flourish together. White has put up 43.75 and 48.25 FPTS since Giddey returned from injury. Giddey’s presence and ability to make plays has opened things up for White. As mentioned in the Giddey section, Denver has been awful at defense recently, so both White and Giddey should continue flourishing.
Power Forward
Paolo Banchero has been THE Alpha for the Magic offense, putting up over 50 FPTS in four of the last five games, with two of those over 60 FPTS. The Lakers just allowed Chicago to put up 146 points against them.
Center
Nikola Vucevic has put up 42.5, 57 and 42 FPTS in the last three games. He probably would’ve had another 50-burger on Saturday, but the Bulls blew out the Lakers, so Vucevic only played 26 minutes. The Nuggets are really struggling right now, especially on defense, as they are 24th in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
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.
