Sean Barnard makes his DraftKings Pick6 selections for the November 6 slate of NBA games.
The NBA is set to return to action following a complete night off on Tuesday. There will be 12 games in a more traditional slate, rather than every team playing with a new game tipping off every 15 minutes — which was the case on Monday.
The Detroit Pistons will play the Charlotte Hornets and the Orlando Magic will face the Indiana Pacers in the opening two games of the night. Then, the Golden State Warriors will travel to Boston to face the Celtics following Steve Kerr’s Olympic drama. Paul George will also be making his return to Los Angeles to face off against the Clippers in his second game in a Sixers uniform.
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. 6. 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.
The Golden State Warriors will travel to Boston to face the Celtics with both teams losing just one game so far this season. There likely will be additional motivation in the air following a turbulent 2024 Paris Olympics. Kerr made the controversial decision to bench Jayson Tatum during the event and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown did not even receive an invite to the Olympics.
While Tatum has said all the right things publicly, this felt like a slap in the face to the Celtics’ superstar. He now has a chance to show Kerr why it was the wrong decision. On top of this, Tatum has started the season playing MVP-caliber basketball. Through the opening eight games, he is averaging 30.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5. 1 assists per game.
Expect Tatum to be in attack mode from the opening whistle tonight. He has eclipsed 30.5 points in four of the eight games including tallying 37 points in three different games already this year. Boston leads all teams in scoring so far this season and Tatum is at the heart of this production. He also is attempting 11.6 three-point attempts per game this year, with his previous career high for a season being 9.3. Expect Tatum to record more than 30.5 points for the fifth time this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have cooled off from their red-hot start and sit at 4-3 entering this matchup. They will face off with the Memphis Grizzlies who are 4-4 to start the year. One notable storyline for this matchup is Anthony Davis, who is questionable with a left heel contusion.
Davis is off to an excellent start to the season, leading the NBA in scoring and averaging 32.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. JJ Redick has made some notable changes to the offense with more motion and Davis is at the center of everything the team does. While this will continue moving forward, expect LeBron James to need to step up tonight with or without Davis.
James has still looked impressive and is averaging 21.9 points, 7.7 assists and 6.9 rebounds through the opening seven games. These numbers are a bit mild by his standards, with his 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds against the Suns skewing the averages a bit. While Father Time is undefeated, James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds just last year and has not looked to have taken a step back physically. Expect a string of breakout performances to begin soon and for James to record more than 41.5 combined points, assists and rebounds tonight against the Grizzlies.
While he has already been crowned the MVP in three different seasons, there is a strong case to be made that Nikola Jokic is more important to the Denver offense this year than ever before. The Nuggets lack shooting on the roster, and they will be further shorthanded due to the injury to Aaron Gordon.
So far this season Jokic is averaging a career-high 29.6 points and 19.7 field goal attempts per game. Jokic also has shown an increased willingness from the perimeter making 2.4 three-pointers per game with his previous career-high being 1.5 per game.
This is a matchup that Jokic should be able to exploit, with Chet Holmgren set to serve as his primary defender. Holmgren is a unique and incredible talent but struggles when matching up with the more physical big men due to his lean frame. This was the reason the Thunder brought in Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, but the former Knick has not been able to suit up yet due to a fracture in his hand. Expect Jokic to be in attack mode and have no issues with Holmgren in this matchup, recording more than 27.5 points in the process.
One of the more controversial additions to this new Denver roster has been Russell Westbrook. The future Hall-of-Fame guard has one of the more decorated careers in NBA history but has not always been able to make his talents translate to team success. This has especially been the case in the later years of his career in a more reduced role.
Through the opening seven games, Westbrook has played 24.3 minutes per game in which he has averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Denver allows him to serve as the engine of the bench unit and play at his pace for stretches of the game, but there are limitations to this. That said, the veteran guard has started the past two games with Jamal Murray sidelined.
Expect Westbrook to be unable to reach more than 7.5 assists as the Nuggets face off with the Thunder. The nine-time All-Star has not recorded more than seven assists in a game yet this year and has been held to five or fewer in five of the seven games. Unless he sees a severe uptick in minutes and opportunity, this number is too high for Westbrook. Expect him to record less than 7.5 assists against his former team tonight.
There will be plenty of storylines as the Sixers face off with the Clippers in Los Angeles for the first time since George took his talents to the east coast. The Clippers and Sixers have had some significant roster overlap over the past few years which includes names like James Harden, George, P.J. Tucker, Nicolas Batum, Mo Bamba, KJ Martin and Reggie Jackson.
Regardless, the biggest storyline today will be what happens on the court. While Kawhi Leonard’s injury status will continue to limit the ceiling of this Los Angeles team, Harden has done a solid job keeping them afloat. Through the opening seven games, Harden has averaged 21.1 points, 9.9 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game. He also is attempting 8.7 three-pointers per game, connecting at a 29.5 percent rate which has translated to 2.6 makes per game. Harden has made as many as five three-pointers in a game this season.
Expect Los Angeles to live and die with Harden’s step-back three-pointers on several possessions throughout this game. The 10-time All-Star is responsible for a significant portion of the team’s offense. With there sure to be plenty of emotions in the air, expect Harden to be ready to play and get plenty of shots up. Three three-pointers is too small of a number for Harden, so look for him to deliver for the Clippers in this matchup.
It will be interesting to see the reception for George as he returns to Los Angeles for the first time after leaving in free agency. There is expected to be a tribute video for the nine-time All-Star, but he did not leave on the best of terms. After suffering a bone bruise in the preseason, George missed the first five games this year. He made his Sixers debut on Monday against the Suns, in which he tallied 15 points, five rebounds and four assists while playing on a minutes restriction.
While the career 20.8 points-per-game scorer will need to produce in the scoring category as well, there is a need for his production across the board. What particularly stood out in his debut is the need for George to serve as a playmaker in the offense. He opened things up in a major way attacking the paint and kicking out to shooters which helped the Sixers greatly. While he tallied four assists, there were several other good looks Philadelphia was unable to capitalize on. The Sixers also rank 29th in rebounding as a team, so he can be a major help in that category.
Look for George to put his fingerprints on this game in a variety of ways. He has averaged more than 8.5 combined assists and rebounds dating back to the 2015-16 season. Look for George to tally more than 8.5 assists and rebounds as he attempts to get revenge on his former team.
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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