Sean Barnard makes his DraftKings Pick6 selections for the November 1st slate of NBA games.
With Halloween officially behind us, our focus returns to the spooky NBA season on the court. The second week of the long season is off to the races and there have already been some surprises in the first few games.
On the opening night of November, there will be nine games on the NBA slate. Most notably, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to remain undefeated against the Orlando Magic. The Indiana Pacers will face the New Orleans Pelicans. The Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Canada to face the Raptors. In addition, the Nuggets will be facing the new-look Timberwolves in another intriguing Western Conference matchup.
This notable number of games provides many options for what to watch and even more options for how 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 November 1st. We simply choose whether a player will record more or less of the set statistic. Here are my six favorite plays for Wednesday night’s action.
There has never been a real question about the ability of LaMelo Ball. Rather, the concerns were based on his injury issues and style of play. Still, the former third-overall pick has provided the NBA with a strong reminder of how talented he is through the opening few games of the season. The Hornets star has averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds through the opening four games and is not showing signs of slowing down.
Looking at tonight’s matchup, the Hornets are set to face off with the Boston Celtics as the biggest underdog on the slate. While Boston has impressed greatly to start the season with their three-point attack and strong offensive performances, they have not reached their peak as a team defensively. As a team, they rank 17th in points allowed thus far giving up 114.4 points per game.
Expect LaMelo Ball to be at the center of everything the Hornets do offensively once again. He possesses the size to go head-to-head with some of Boston’s top defenders and will play in both an on and off-ball role. He has eclipsed 38.5 combined points, assists, and rebounds in three of the first four games thus far and has shot the ball at a high level to start the season. Expect this to continue in this matchup and for Ball to take the challenge against the defending champions personally.
Cam Thomas ranks 11th in the NBA in shot attempts per game to start the season. However, he ranks just 27th in three-point attempts. Thomas has a permanent green light within the Brooklyn offense as they fight through their rebuild, but has looked much more comfortable getting to his spots in the mid-range rather than launching from the perimeter.
After starting the year knocking down seven of his 13 three-point attempts in the season-opener, Thomas has not attempted more than eight three-point attempts in a matchup. He shot three for five in the Nets’ second game before struggling to 2-8, 1-8, and 1-6 shooting performances.
As the Nets prepare to face off with the Chicago Bulls, expect Thomas to continue to operate primarily inside the three-point arc. The Bulls also are holding opponents to just 29.1% from beyond the three-point arc which is the third-best rate in the NBA. This also comes while opponents are attempting three-pointers at the sixth-highest rate.
Expect Thomas’ struggles from the perimeter to continue against the Bulls. Count on him to tally less than 2.5 three-pointers made and for this to be a comfortable margin as he can still hit a pair of three-pointers and for this to be a success.
Jalen Johnson’s ceiling affects the Hawks’ future outlook more than some realize. This has been at least part of the reason why the team elected to move on from Dejounte Murray this offseason and Johnson’s potential ceiling will weigh heavily into the decision-making for Atlanta moving forward.
The early signs have been promising for the Duke product. Through the first five games of the season, he is averaging 16.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. These averages are depressed by a disappointing seven-point, nine-rebound, and two-assist performance against the Thunder. Johnson is coming off back-to-back double-doubles in which he has tallied 44 and 48 combined points, assists, and rebounds and has a great chance to keep this going against the Kings.
Sacramento made a notable splash this offseason bringing in DeMar DeRozan but their point-of-attack defense is still concerning. Expect Johnson to make use of his 6-foot-8 frame and 7-foot wingspan as he attacks the rim often. The Kings will struggle with Johnson’s athleticism. He should be all over the place in this matchup. Expect him to record more than 33.5 combined points, assists, and rebounds, and for Johson to continue building his case as one of the most intriguing young talents in the NBA.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a 5-0 start to the season and have been the hottest team in basketball. This has been a complete team effort with just about everyone on the roster playing well, but Jarrett Allen especially deserves his shine. Allen has recorded 15 or more points in four of the first five games, raking up three double-doubles in the process. The former All-Star is averaging 17.8 points per game thus far and also currently leads in the NBA in field goal percentage at 79.1%.
As the Cavaliers prepare to face off against the Magic, expect Allen to remain a key part of the game plan. While the double-big pairing of Allen sharing the floor with Mobley will cause some problems at times, Orlando does not have a roster equipped to handle this. They also will be forced to make some changes to their rotation due to Paolo Banchero’s recent injury.
Expect Allen to continue building off his strong start to the season and for him to find his way to 15+ points in this matchup. The Texas product averaged 16.5 points per game last season and should be in line for similar production this year. Count on Allen to remain in attack mode and clear this number for the fifth time in six games.
The New York Knicks are set to travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons. The new-look Knicks are off to a 2-2 start and still playing through the growing pains of the new roster. This could especially be the case with Karl-Anthony Towns being listed as questionable with a left wrist sprain after dropping 44 points in the last game against the Heat.
Even with Towns in the lineup, the Knicks are limited at the big man spot. Mitchell Robinson remains out due to injury and the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency is worse than it seems. Detroit has the exact type of roster that can expose this. Look toward Jalen Duren as the guy who will step up.
Duren has started all five games for the Pistons thus far but has been limited to just 25.6 minutes per game largely due to foul issues. He fouled out against the Philadelphia 76ers in just 10:43 of game-time in the most recent game. Duren has averaged 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in his opportunity thus far. He has cleared 22.5 combined points and rebounds in two of the five games. Expect Duren’s high-level athleticism to cause some issues for the Knicks and for him to have the inside track for leading the game in rebounds. Count on Duren to be active around the rim on both sides of the floor and record more than 22.5 combined points and rebounds. This matchup has the ingredients of a true breakout game for the 20-year-old and he could dominate the box score.
It has not been the ideal start to Tobias Harris’ Pistons tenure. After returning to the organization on a two-year $52 million contract this offseason, he is shooting just 37.1% from the field and 15% from beyond the three-point arc through the first five games. Harris is averaging just 11.6 points per game and has only eclipsed 14.5 points once so far this season. This also occurred against the Philadelphia 76ers with several of the points coming late when the game was out of hand.
Heading into this matchup, expect Harris to struggle again. Mikal Bridges and O.G. Anunoby are two of the premiere perimeter defenders in the NBA and will have a significant length and athleticism advantage over Harris. Expect the 14-year NBA veteran to be bothered by this and fail to make too much of a box score impact.
While Harris will settle in as the season progresses, this is not an ideal matchup for him. Expect his early season struggles to continue and for Harris to record less than 14.5 points for the fifth time in six games.
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.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
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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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