One of the most uneasy picks for NBA DFS lineups in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors was Jayson Tatum. Twice before during this postseason, Tatum has finished with just 10 points, and on Thursday, he only finished with 12. But he managed to salvage his performance by coming away with a playoff-high 13 assists in Boston's win. After his previous 10-point games this postseason, Tatum came back with 30-point showings in each of his following starts.
In Games 6 and 7 against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum hit 8-of-14 three-pointers, but in Game 1 against Golden State, he was just 1-for-5. For the majority of the 2022 NBA playoffs, Tatum has been a top producer out of the NBA DFS player pool, but what should be expected of him in Game 2? Before you make your NBA DFS picks for Warriors vs. Celtics Game 2, 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 nearly $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 Thursday, McClure listed Celtics forward Al Horford as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Horford had his second-best offensive performance this postseason, with 26 points, six rebounds, and made 6-of-8 three-point attempts to return 42 points on DraftKings and 38.7 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 the Celtics vs. Warriors Game 2 and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, June 5
For Game 2, Horford is one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks once again. Daily Fantasy basketball players may want to temper expectations for him a bit following Game 1, as that was the first time that he ever hit six three-pointers in a single game, and he had scored just eight total points in his previous two games to close out the conference finals. He also finished with 19 total rebounds against Miami in Games 6 and 7, and even though he had just six rebounds on Thursday, he tied with Jaylen Brown for Boston's second-highest rebound rate at 11.3 percent.
The story for Horford as far as Game 1 is concerned was how sharp he was shooting from distance, but since Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he has been a menace when it comes to blocking shots. He didn't have one on Thursday, but he had 12 in the six games before that. Horford also averaged 10 rebounds per game during that same stretch and figures to be a solid overall option for Game 2.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Horford with Celtics guard Marcus Smart. Smart scored 18 points and made 4-of-7 three-pointers in Boston's Game 1 win on Thursday. Over his last three games, Smart has averaged 18.7 points, six rebounds, four assists and 1.7 steals.
Although he had scored 38 total points in Games 6 and 7 against the Heat, Smart only hit 32.4 percent of his shots in those starts. He turned that around in a big way in Game 1 and drained 63.6 percent. Smart has also been a major Fantasy contributor thanks to his work on defense, and he's snagged five steals over his last three starts. One final thing Smart was able to tighten up in Game 1 was his ball security, and he finished with just one turnover after having four in each of his prior two starts.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, June 5
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.
So 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 almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.
