Sean Barnard makes his DraftKings Pick6 selections for the November 8th slate of NBA games.
There are 13 games of NBA action on the November 8th slate.
Most notably, the Warriors will face off with the undefeated Cavaliers at 7:30 PM EST. The Bucks and Knicks are facing off in a matchup of underperforming perceived Eastern Conference Contenders. The Suns and Mavericks will square off in a Western Conference competition. The Rockets and Thunder will also be facing off in a matchup of exciting young teams. The Lakers will face the Sixers while the Clippers will play the Kings in the late slate.
There is set to be plenty of good basketball which provides several options for what to watch and even more opportunities to get involved in the action. One of the more unique features on DraftKings this year is Pick6 Fantasy Basketball!
This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for Nov. 8. We simply choose whether a player will record more or less of the set statistic. Here are my six favorite plays for Friday night’s action.
Norman Powell ruffled some feathers with his comments about Paul George’s departure being “addition by subtraction” but his play has backed up his claim. Through the opening eight games, he has averaged a career-high 25.0 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 53% from the field overall and 48.5% from beyond the three-point arc while launching 8.5 long-range shots per game.
As the Clippers prepare to face the Kings, this is a great chance for Powell to continue his production. He has tallied more than 21.5 points in six of the eight games including as many as 37 points in a game already this year. Sacramento still has some questions regarding its perimeter defense and currently ranks 15th in opponents’ points per game.
Los Angeles will continue to rely heavily on Powell as he fills larger shoes in the offense this year. He has attempted a career-high 16.8 shot attempts per game to start this season after shooting more than 17 shots in just one game last year. Expect this shot volume to continue translating to strong scoring performances and for Powell to tally more than 21.5 points in tonight’s matchup.
It has not been an ideal start to the 2024-25 season for Bam Adebayo. Through the opening seven games, he has averaged 14.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. This is his lowest scoring total since the 2018-19 season and lowest rebounding output since 2020-21.
While better days are ahead of Adebayo as the season continues, facing Nikola Jokic is not the best opportunity. Jokic has been forced to be in attack mode due to inconsistent play from his supporting cast and is averaging 28.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 11.0 assists per game. He is leading the NBA in both rebounds and assists through the early stages of the season.
Expect Jokic’s size to bother Adebayo and for him to be unable to have the box score impact he desires. He has recorded more than 30.5 combined points, assists, and rebounds just once this year. Miami is just 3-4 to start the season and Adebayo’s lack of impact has been a significant reason why. Expect his struggles to continue against one of the league’s best players and for Adebayo to fall short once again.
The Karl-Anthony Towns trade this summer made clear that the Timberwolves were handing over the keys to their franchise to Anthony Edwards. The former number-one overall pick has emerged as one of the league’s brightest young stars and has taken another step forward this season. Through the opening eight games, he has averaged 28.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
The most notable change in Edwards’ game has been his volume from beyond the three-point line. Throughout his career, he has averaged 7.5 three-point attempts per game and 6.7 last season. So far this year he ranks third in the NBA attempting 11.1 three-pointers per game. Edwards is also knocking down 46.1% of these attempts which has been good for 5.1 per game.
Edwards has made more four or more three-points in seven of the eight games. He knocked down three three-pointers in the lone game he did not reach this total. As the Timberwolves prepare to face the Trail Blazers, expect Edwards to continue to be in attack mode. The two-time All-Star has embraced the way the NBA is trending with increased three-point volume and this should continue tonight.
The New York Knicks are still working through the growing pains of their offseason roster changes. Josh Hart has been one of the players most impacted by these, but he still ranks third on the team in minutes. The scrappy guard has averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. Hart has tallied more than 9.5 rebounds in three of the seven games thus far and has a great chance to add to this against the Bucks.
So far this season, Milwaukee ranks 22nd in rebounding and is tallying 51.0 per game. Hart is a high-effort rebounder who has a unique ability to crash the glass and steal extra possessions for his team. The Bucks have been sloppy in their execution this year and if they do not have a focused effort to secure rebounds, Hart will have a field day.
This is the type of matchup that Hart’s energy and effort can influence greatly. His rebounding total may lead the charge for this. Hart tallied 10 or more rebounds in 31 games last season and averaged 11.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Milwaukee is vulnerable to players of his skillset and Hart will be extremely active in the rebounding category in tonight’s game.
Jalen Brunson is a part of both the problems and the solutions for the current Knicks’ struggles. There is no doubt that Brunson is the focal point of the Knicks organization at this point, but his 30.9% usage rate might be a bit too much from a season-long standpoint. To take it a step further, it has been less about how much he has had the ball and more about the lack of consistent offense he has generated. While this may be adjusted over time, Brunson has averaged 25.3 points and 5.7 assists per game so far this year. He has some highs, including recording more than 35.5 points and assists twice already, but Brunson’s best basketball is still yet to be played.
This matchup with the Bucks presents an opportunity for Brunson to be in attack mode. The Bucks rank 20th in opponent points per game and have struggled with their point-of-attack defense, especially when defending guards. Brunson is a master at manipulating space and creating an advantage for himself. Expect him to have success attacking the paint and collapsing the defense which should lead to plenty of scoring opportunities. Brunson eclipsed 35.5 combined points and assists in 42 games last year and finished with averages of 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game.
The early season growing pains are expected with the amount of roster turnover that occurred. However, count on Brunson and the Knicks to begin snapping out of it with a strong performance against the Bucks. Look for him to tally more than 35.5 combined points and assists and for Brunson to fully get on the right track moving forward.
While you may think of his ability to score the ball and launch from well beyond the three-point line when thinking of Trae Young, he has also impacted the game in several other ways to start the year. The Hawks’ star guard has averaged 23.8 points, 10.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds through the opening nine games of the year. Young’s rebounding ability has been a surprising bright spot as he has recorded four or more rebounds in seven of the nine games. He also was leading the NBA in assists as of Wednesday, but Nikola Jokic has passed him by raising his average to 11.0 assists per game.
While the Detroit Pistons are moving in the right direction as an organization, this is a matchup that Atlanta should be focused on winning. Trae Young will be at the epicenter of everything the Hawks do as is usually the case. Throughout his career, Young has averaged 25.8 points and 9.3 assists when facing the Pistons. In their last matchup, Young produced 31 points, 15 assists, and four rebounds and has tallied more than 13.5 combined rebounds and assists in his last four matchups with the Pistons.
While Young is capable of producing more than 13.5 assists, which he has already done this year, he also has tallied eight rebounds in a pair of games and is more involved in rebounding overall. Expect this to continue in this game and for Young to record more than 13.5 assists and rebounds once again.
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of at least two players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you cannot pick the same player twice and you must select players from at least two different teams.
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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