There is a 10-game NBA regular season schedule on Friday, which begins at 7 p.m. ET and has the last tip at 10:30 p.m. ET. The schedule also means the NBA DFS player pool has some top options for daily Fantasy basketball lineups. Stars like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell, Deni Avdija, Jalen Johnson and Giannis Antetokounmpo are in action, so you certainly have plenty of directions to go with NBA DFS picks. Finding someone who can outperform his price tags on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings is key to that and to constructing a winning NBA DFS strategy.
Victor Wembanyama (undisclosed), Jonas Valanciunas (calf), Jerami Grant (Achilles), Coby White (calf), Josh Hart (ankle) and Draymond Green (undisclosed) are among those who are out for tonight. That means there are several players who could make a difference in their absence. Who should find their way into your daily Fantasy basketball lineups? Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.
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McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He’s also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Friday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Friday, January 2
For Friday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who is listed at $9,500 on DraftKings and $9,100 on FanDuel. The ninth-year veteran is off to the best start of his career. In 31 games, all starts, he is averaging a career-high 25.2 points, seven assists, 4.4 rebounds and one steal in 35.1 minutes. He is connecting on 48.7% of his field goals, including 45.4% from 3-point range, and 88.7% of his free throws. Murray should fare well against the Cleveland defense, which ranks 18th in the league by allowing 117.3 points per game.
Denver has won nine of its last 13 games thanks in part to Murray’s play. He is coming off a 21-point, seven-rebound and six-assist effort in a 106-103 win over Toronto on Wednesday. He registered a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists in a 147-123 loss at Miami on Monday.
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Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Murray with guard Jalen Pickett ($3,500 on DraftKings and $4,400 on FanDuel). The third-year veteran is averaging 3.1 points in 17 games played, including one start. He is coming off a 10-point effort in the win over the Raptors.
In 49 games last season, including four starts, he averaged 4.1 points, 2.2 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 13.6 minutes of action. In a 115-101 loss to the Houston Rockets on Dec. 20, he scored 10 points, while pulling down four rebounds in 22 minutes. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, January 2
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday because of an optimal matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
Who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.