The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks will meet for the fifth time this year when they begin their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday after Boston dominated the regular-season series. The Celtics won all four games against New York with Jayson Tatum scoring at least 25 points in each. Tatum averaged 33.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists against New York, and given he won’t cost daily Fantasy basketball players quite as much as other stars like Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Monday NBA DFS lineups, is Tatum the superstar you want featured for your NBA DFS picks?
The Nuggets and Thunder split their four games against each other this season entering their Game 1 matchup, and Jokic had two triple-doubles in the four games. The Celtics have reinforcements for Monday as Jrue Holiday (hamstring) is set for his return after missing the last three games, so how should he factor into your NBA DFS strategy? 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.
On Thursday (when McClure last made NBA DFS picks), McClure identified Clippers guard James Harden as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both sites. The result: Harden had 28 points, six rebounds and eight assists, returning 53 points on DraftKings and 52.2 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day.
McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Monday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Monday, May 5
For Monday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Thunder point guard Gilgeous-Alexander, who is listed at $9,500 on DraftKings and $10,400 on FanDuel. Gilgeous-Alexander, the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA MVP, led the league in scoring at 32.7 ppg this season and was 14th in assists at 6.4 per contest. He had 38 points and six assists on April 26 as the Thunder completed their four-game sweep over the Grizzlies. Outside of Game 1 when he scored 15 points in 23 minutes in a 51-point rout over the Grizzlies, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32 points and 6.3 assists against the Grizzlies.
The 26-year-old guard had at least 25 points in all four games against Denver this season, including a 40-point performance on March 9 at home. The Thunder haven’t played in nine days, compared to Denver coming off a grueling seven-game series that ended on Saturday, a week after Oklahoma City last played. McClure expects tired legs in Denver and for Gilgeous-Alexander to take advantage of that in a huge performance for NBA DFS picks.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. ($5,100 on DraftKings and $5,300 on FanDuel). Porter had 15 points and six rebounds in Denver’s Game 7 victory on Saturday, and he’s scored at least 14 points in three of his last four games. Porter was a significant part of the Game 7 game plan with 11 field-goal attempts, tied for his most over the series, and given that it helped Denver pull out a 19-point victory, Monday could feature another heavy dosage of Porter.
The Thunder had the No. 3 scoring defense (107.2 ppg) this season, but Porter still found ways to succeed against them. The 26-year-old had at least 15 points in all four games, including two 24-point contests. Porter had 24 points and 15 rebounds at Oklahoma City on March 9. Porter is one of the younger prominent players for Denver, so he may be asked to do more with the quick turnaround, and McClure sees strong value in him at his price for Monday NBA DFS lineups. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Monday, May 5
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Monday 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.
Who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Monday? 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.
