Dejounte Murray is making the most of his role as the primary scorer and distributor in the Atlanta offense with Trae Young (finger) out for multiple weeks. Murray was one of the most discussed names around the NBA Trade Deadline, but after remaining in Atlanta, he can showcase what other teams missed out on by not acquiring him. Murray has 11 assists in back-to-back contests while averaging 21 points in the first two games during this stretch without Young. The Hawks play the struggling Nets on Thursday, so should daily Fantasy basketball players utilize the Atlanta guard in NBA DFS lineups?
With eight teams in action on Thursday, the NBA DFS player pool has some top options such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. But nearly half the league is off as well, so how should you form your NBA DFS strategy? The Warriors play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and Curry is averaging 29.5 ppg over his last two games at the World's Most Famous Arena. Should he be included in NBA DFS lineups? 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 Tuesday, McClure highlighted Wizards forward/center Kyle Kuzma as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Kuzma had 27 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a block, returning 46 points on DraftKings and 41.4 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, February 29
For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Nets forward Mikal Bridges, who is listed at $7,000 on DraftKings and $7,600 on FanDuel. Bridges is coming off an awful shooting night, going 2 of 13 from the field, including 0 of 7 from beyond the arc, with four points against the Magic on Tuesday. The 27-year-old is in a scoring and shooting slump, averaging 10 points on 29.5% shooting over his last three contests. But those matchups all came against teams with top 10 scoring defenses whereas the Nets play the Hawks on Thursday, and Atlanta is allowing 122.8 points, the second-most in the NBA.
Bridges' struggles have dropped his NBA DFS price on Thursday to a point where he could emerge as one the best values in the NBA DFS player pool. He is averaging 21.1 ppg this season and has scored at least 42 points in two of his last three games against Atlanta. Bridges is averaging 39.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists over his last three games against Atlanta, and McClure sees this as a huge get-right game for Bridges to reverse his poor shooting of late at a reduced price.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Bridges with forward Cameron Johnson ($4,900 on DraftKings and $5,100 on FanDuel). Johnson is averaging 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds this season and is coming off playing 29 minutes against the Magic on Tuesday, his most in seven games dating back to Feb. 3. The Nets are battling some key injuries with Cameron Thomas (ankle) out, and he is second on the team in scoring (20.9 ppg).
Ben Simmons (leg) is questionable as the Nets may need Johnson to play at least 30 minutes on Thursday. Atlanta ranks 28th in opponent field goal percentage (49.8%) while ranking in the bottom five in nearly every defensive category. Johnson is averaging 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists over two games against the Hawks this season and could be an underpriced player to target for NBA DFS lineups. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, February 29
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.
