The New Year's Day NBA slate features just six teams in action but also some of the highest-profile players in the league. MVPs Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo will take the court, as will potential future MVPs in Jayson Tatum and Ja Morant. Loading up your NBA DFS lineups with stars is a tried and true formula, but you won't be able to roster every elite option on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings due to NBA DFS salary cap limitations.
Thus, you'll have to weave in more economical options from the rather limited NBA DFS player pool on New Year's Day. Perhaps Sacramento sharpshooter Kevin Huerter would fit the bill after he's averaged 19.4 points with blistering 59-49-90 shooting splits over his last five games. Before locking in any NBA DFS picks for Sunday, 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 over $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 Saturday, he highlighted 76ers guard De'Anthony Melton in his top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Melton had a complete stat line with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks, returning 44.75 points on DraftKings and 47.9 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 NBA action on Sunday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, January 1
For Sunday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Bucks forward Antetokounmpo, who is listed at $12,100 on DraftKings and $12,300 on FanDuel. The two-time MVP has been on an otherworldly run over his last six games, as four of them saw him go over 40 points. During this stretch, Antetokounmpo is averaging 38 points, 14.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per night.
His 32.1 PPG on the season is a career-high and it ranks third in the NBA. An appealing matchup against the Wizards on Sunday awaits as Antetokounmpo showed off his all-around abilities in his last two games versus Washington. First he had a 29-18-5 stat line against the Wizards and he then followed that up with a 30-point triple-double versus Washington. The Wizards have given up at least 100 points in 23 straight contests, so there will certainly be opportunities for Antetokounmpo to rack up lots of stats on New Year's Day.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Celtics guard Marcus Smart ($6,000 on DraftKings and $6,500 on FanDuel). Smart collected 17 points and nine assists in his last outing, which are both above his season averages. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year also had three rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
Boston visits Denver on Sunday, and the Nuggets are among the worst teams in the league at defending point guards. They've allowed the second-most Fantasy points to opposing PGs on DraftKings and the third-most on FanDuel. Denver just allowed De'Aaron Fox of Sacramento to have 31 points and a season-high of 13 assists on Wednesday, so look for Smart to become the latest point guard to take advantage of a suspect defense.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, January 1
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Sunday 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 Sunday? 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.
