Since the NBA retooled its schedule to work around COVID-19 risks, consecutive games between the same teams have become commonplace, and picking out trends in those circumstances has given daily Fantasy players an added data point to consider. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 19 points on Wednesday against Minnesota was one of his more modest performances this season, but he gets another shot against the Timberwolves on Friday. Against the Houston Rockets on November 29, he scored 22 points, only to come back against them in the Thunder’s next game to drop 39 on December 1.
Is Gilgeous-Alexander a top choice to dramatically improve in round two against the same opponent and lead NBA DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? In his five starts before Wednesday, he was averaging 28.6 points, 6.6 assists and 1.2 blocks. Before locking in your NBA DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.
McClure is a DFS professional with nearly $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 and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
On Thursday, McClure included Suns forward Cameron Johnson as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Johnson scored a season-high 24 points with seven rebounds and two blocks to return 41.75 points on DraftKings and 41.9 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to the Friday, January 7 NBA DFS slate 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 7
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Friday is Nets superstar Kevin Durant at $10,300 on DraftKings and $11,000 on FanDuel. Brooklyn hosts Milwaukee on Friday night, which means that Kyrie Irving won’t be in the lineup at home. Otherwise, Durant has shown that he is still more than capable of putting up big numbers, even as James Harden continues to produce alongside him at the Barclays Center.
In the three home games the Nets have played since Durant returned from a three-game absence (protocols), he’s averaged 29 points, with six assists and 1.7 blocks per game. In Brooklyn’s last home game against Memphis on Monday, Durant scored 26 points with six assists and three blocks, while Harden finished with just 19 points, eight assists and five turnovers. In a showcase matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA DFS players can count on Durant to rise to the occasion and go for big numbers on Friday.
Another key in McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson ($7,000 on DraftKings and $5,300 on FanDuel). Brunson has become a fixture in Dallas’ starting lineup since mid-December, but he figures to play a more significant role on Friday against Houston with Luka Doncic not expected to play due to a hurt ankle.
After Brunson became a full-time starter last month, he led the Mavs in 10 consecutive games without Doncic in the lineup. During that run, he averaged 21 points and 7.4 assists while shooting over 51 percent from the field. The only other time the Mavericks played Houston in 2021-22 came in the beginning of the season on October 26, and Brunson scored just 11 points, but dished out 11 assists in 28 minutes. Over Houston’s last three games, opponents have averaged 28 assists; sixth most in the league during that stretch.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Friday, January 7
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday because of a dream 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.
So 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 almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.