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 10 games.
ATL, BKN, CLE, DET, IND, MEM, MIL, MIN, NOP and NYK are playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for injuries, Mark Williams is available. Jalen Smith is probable. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Quentin Grimes, Jaylen Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, Klay Thompson, Justin Edwards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wendell Carter Jr., Cory Joseph, Moussa Diabate are questionable. Richaun Holmes is doubtful. RJ Barrett, Miles Bridgers, Jordan Poole, Immanuel Quickley, Guerschon Yabusele, Jakob Poeltl, Ja’Kobe Walter, Pelle Larsson, Kyle Lowry are out.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there are six double-digit favorites: ATL -11 over PHI, BOS -19.5 over CHA, CHI -16.5 over WAS, MIA -13 over NOP, DAL -11 over TOR and MIN -18 over BKN. There is no game within 3 points. There are three games with a total of at least 230: ATL/PHI (241), WAS/CHI (236) and MEM/DEN (239.5). There are four games below 220: ORL/IND (219.5), CHA/BOS (214.5) MIA/NOP (216) and BKN/MIN (217).
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Starting 5 $6K Zone [$2K to 1st].
Point Guard
Josh Giddey is at the bottom of this player pool for reasons unknown to me, but I like it because maybe it depresses the ownership. Giddey has been playing like a man who wants big bags in the offseason, triple-doubling left and right while making us fantasy nerds smile with fantasy goodies on a nightly basis. In the last three games, he’s put up 78.5 and 60.25 FPTS. Now he faces a Wizards team that is 27th in defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Shooting Guard
Hmm, now this is an interesting position and it comes down to your risk tolerance and overall lineup construction philosophy. I’m usually of the no-risk-it, no-biscuit camp, so Payton Pritchard makes my eyes tear with gravy. With the Celtics locked into their seeding, they are likely going to sit most of their starters, or at least limit their playing time. As a result, Pritchard should play over 30 minutes and garner a high usage rate. The range of outcomes is wide, but he’s gone over 50 FPTS four times this season, with a high of 69.5 FPTS.
Small Forward
Well, it looks like I’ll be rostering every player from the bottom of the player pool on this slate. Ausar Thompson is a low-usage player, but he contributes in every statistical category and has gone for over 30 FPTS in each of the last four games, with a high of 44.75 FPTS. Detroit is two games behind Milwaukee for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and they play each other in the final two games, so Ausar should see a full complement of minutes.
Power Forward
Bam Adebayo can be frustrating for fantasy because he isn’t always aggressive. As a result, 30-FPTS performances are often the norm, but he can get buckets if he wants to and put up over 50 FPTS. New Orleans is 21st in defensive rating over the last 10 games and they are thin in the frontcourt, so Bam should feast. In addition, Miami can still move up to eighth in the Eastern Conference if they win out and Atlanta loses two.
Center
Nikola Jokic is on the slate, so you click on his name. Don’t be a hero. Jokic has the highest floor/ceiling combo in the game.
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.
