Two Eastern Conference teams have a chance to punch their tickets to the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs on Thursday. The Pacers hold a 3-2 lead over the Bucks, when they meet at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Knicks also holding a 3-2 series lead over the 76ers ahead of their 9 p.m. ET meeting. Top NBA DFS picks like Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Jalen Brunson figure to be extremely aggressive to avoid seeing a Game 7, so should they highlight your Thursday NBA DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings?
On the other side, Joel Embiid doesn't want to see his injury-plagued season end with another early postseason exit. The same goes for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who are both doubtful for tonight's contest. Embiid has still produced for daily Fantasy basketball lineups despite being less than 100%, so what should one expect from that Bucks' NBA DFS stack if either Antetokounmpo or Lillard suit up? Before making your 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 and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
On Wednesday, McClure highlighted Heat center Bam Adebayo as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Adebayo had 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, returning 41.25 points on DraftKings and 41 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
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, May 2
For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is rostering 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, who is listed at $8,800 on DraftKings and $9,500 on FanDuel. Maxey would not let the Sixers' season end in Game 5 as he scored 31 of his 46 points after halftime in helping Philly overcome a late deficit to win in overtime. He's averaging a team-best 32.4 points in this series versus New York to go along with 7.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds while knocking down 50% of his field goal attempts.
Maxey also averaged 31 ppg in two home regular-season matchups versus the Knicks, and he'll continue to be the focal point of Philadelphia's offense with Embiid struggling. The reigning MVP is making just 43.5% of his shots in this series and had nine turnovers in Game 5 as his knee is greatly affecting his play. Maxey has picked up the slack, and over his last three games facing elimination, he's averaging 27.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bucks forward Khris Middleton ($8,700 on DraftKings and $9,200 on FanDuel). Middleton has stepped up in a big way with Antetokounmpo and Lillard sidelined for Milwaukee, with the superstar duo doubtful for Thursday. Middleton has at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in four of five games of the series versus Indiana and is coming off 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in his last outing.
The Pacers ranked in the bottom eight in terms of NBA DFS points allowed to opposing small forwards on both DraftKings and FanDuel in the regular season as Indiana has the No. 27 scoring defense. Middleton averaged 18.6 points during the regular season versus Indiana as the team's third option on most nights, to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists. That was his third-highest scoring average versus any team this year he played multiple times, and the Pacers were one of just three teams Middleton averaged at least 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists against. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, May 2
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday 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 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.
