The closing weeks of the NBA regular season can bring some interesting lineups, but the Oklahoma City Thunder starting an entirely new starting lineup on Friday is a new one. All five starters from the Thunder’s 120-103 victory over the Grizzlies on Wednesday have been ruled out for Friday’s matchup against Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and the Trail Blazers, and this will have a significant impact on the NBA DFS player pool. With stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest) and Jalen Williams (wrist) out for OKC, could Thunder reserves become some of Friday’s top values for NBA DFS lineups?
Guard Aaron Wiggins is averaging 17.8 ppg off the bench since the start of February but without Gilgeous-Alexander taking his roughly 20 shots per night, could Wiggins emerge as a top play for NBA DFS lineups? Jalen Brunson injured his ankle late against the Lakers on Thursday, so other Knicks could become popular options for daily Fantasy basketball players as they face James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. 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, McClure highlighted Hawks forward Georges Niang as an under-the-radar play as one of his top NBA DFS picks from the NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Niang had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists, returning 37.5 points on DraftKings and 34.7 points on FanDuel for strong value to NBA DFS lineups. 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 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, March 7
For Friday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Raptors guard/forward Scottie Barnes, who is listed at $7,900 on DraftKings and $9,100 on FanDuel. Barnes had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 114-113 victory over the Magic on Tuesday and has had two full nights of rest following a matchup against the No. 1 scoring defense in the league. Friday’s matchup will have a much different feel to it going against the Jazz and their No. 28 scoring defense (119.8 ppg), and Utah will be without multiple starters like Lauri Markkanen (back) and John Collins (back).
Barnes is averaging 19.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists over his last eight games. The Raptors are also without multiple starters like RJ Barrett (rest), Gradey Dick (knee), Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Jakob Poeltl (rest), which McClure expects to create a heavier usage for Barnes against one of the worst defenses in the league as Utah ranks in the bottom three in both points allowed per game and defensive rating.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic ($3,600 on DraftKings and $4,700 on FanDuel). Nurkic is probable (back) for Friday. If active, he could play a significant role with starting center Mark Williams (foot) out. The last time Nurkic played without Williams active, he had 12 points and nine rebounds over 26 minutes as he can return value at his price for NBA DFS lineups.
Nurkic has thrived for NBA DFS lineups when given significant minutes. He is averaging 15.2 points and 11.8 rebounds over six games this season when playing at least 30 minutes. Last year with the Suns, Nurkic averaged 12.2 points and 14.8 rebounds over 26 games when playing at least 30 minutes. With Williams out and the entire starting lineup besides Miles Bridges appearing on Friday’s injury report, Nurkic could be a significant part of Charlotte’s scoring and rebounding on Friday. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, March 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.
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.
