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 Tuesday’s Starting 5 slate, there are six games.
CHI, MEM and ORL are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Bradley Beal, Jamal Murray, Anfernee Simons, Aaron Gordon, Kyle Lowry, AJ Green, Jonathan Kuminga are questionable. Jerami Grant is doubtful. Kevin Durant, RJ Barrett, Cameron Payne, Ochai Agbaji are out.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there is one double-digit favorite: NYK -14 over PHI. There is one game within 3 points: GSW -2.5 over MEM. There are three games with a total of at least 230: POR/ATL (237.5), TOR/CHI (239.5) and GSW/MEM (238.5). There is one game below 220: ORL/SAS (218.5).
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $8K Zone [$2K to 1st].
Point Guard
I’m going with Josh Giddey here. He’s at the bottom of the pool and is coming off a 26-FPTS game in which he only played 27 minutes and was constantly getting hunted on defense. I think there’s a good chance he bounces back and matches or exceeds the other options at the position. Prior to last game, Giddey put up over 50 FPTS in 10 of 13 games, with five over 60 and a high of 73 FPTS. Toronto and Chicago are first and second in pace over the last 10 games.
Shooting Guard
I usually don’t like selecting low-usage players, but Dyson Daniels is not a normal low-usage player. You know he’s going to rack up steals, but he’s been doing work on the boards and dishing out dimes as well. Whether he puts up points or not determines if he hits a ceiling outcome. Daniels has put up over 50 FPTS in two of the last three games and barely missed a triple-double by two rebounds.
Small Forward
Deni Avdija has been on quite the heater recently, and I don’t think it’s a blip either. Avdija has put up at least 40 FPTS in the last six games, with three of those over 50 and two over 60 FPTS. He’s improved the outside shooting, gotten a deeper handle package, is a beast in transition and finishes strong in the paint. Atlanta is eighth in pace over the last 10 games, so the environment should be a fantasy-friendly one.
Power Forward
Paolo Banchero is the alpha for the Magic offense with Franz Wagner 1B. Banchero has put up at least 40 FPTS in each of the last 11 games, with six over 50 and two over 60 FPTS. The Spurs are 28th in defensive rating over the last 10 games – guess that Victor Wembanyama guy is important – while playing at the 13th-fastest pace.
Center
Karl-Anthony Towns has shot sub-40% in the last two games. As a result, he finished with 33.75 and 32.5 FPTS. In the prior three games, he shot over 50% from the field and went over 50 FPTS in all, with two of those over 60 FPTS. Another 50-burger will likely be grilled on Tuesday, as Philadelphia is dead last 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.
