The 2026 NBA playoffs continue with three Game 3 matchups on Thursday. Knicks vs. Hawks will tip at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Cavaliers vs. Raptors at 8 p.m. ET and Nuggets vs. Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m. ET, as there is a smaller-than-usual NBA DFS player pool. Even with that, the likes of Jamal Murray, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Evan Mobley and Nikola Jokic are high-quality options available as daily Fantasy basketball picks and within NBA DFS lineups.
So who will go off in their games tonight, and who will sputter? A winning NBA DFS strategy is as much about avoiding highly priced players who underperform as it is about hitting on undervalued players. So, which stars should you bypass in NBA daily Fantasy for Thursday? 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.
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 Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, April 23
For Thursday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards ($8,800 on DraftKings, $9,500 on FanDuel). Edwards has been dominant in the first two games of the series. In Game 1, he nearly registered a triple double with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He had a double-double in the 119-114 Game 2 win, scoring 30 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds. Defensively, the Nuggets lagged near the bottom of the league during the regular season, allowing 116.9 points per game, which ranked 21st. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
He’s also building his NBA DFS strategy around Nuggets center Nikola Jokic ($12,700 on DraftKings, $12,500 on FanDuel). Jokic has been at the top of his game in this series, registering a triple double in Game 1, scoring 25 points, while grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists. He scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added eight assists in Monday’s Game 2 loss. Although he is an expensive option, he almost always is well worth the price. During the regular season, he averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for April 23
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday 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 Thursday? 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.
