The Chicago Bulls haven't won a single game against the Milwaukee Bucks this season, but it hasn't been for lack of effort from DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine. In four games against the Bucks, DeRozan averaged 31.3 points with four rebounds and four assists, while LaVine has dropped 51 points against Milwaukee over the last two games between the two teams. With their first round playoff series set to begin in Milwaukee on Sunday, should either be slotted into NBA DFS lineups?
Besides Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee point guard Jrue Holiday could be another name to consider in the NBA DFS player pool on Sunday. In four games against the Bulls this year, he has made three starts and averaged more points per game than teammate Khris Middleton (19.3), to go with 6.8 assists. Before you lock in your NBA DFS picks for Sunday's playoff action, 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 Saturday, McClure listed Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in his top NBA DFS lineup pool on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Jokic finished as the top-scoring Fantasy center in the first day of playoff basketball, with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block. His performance returned 54.5 points on DraftKings and 55 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 Sunday, April 17, NBA DFS slate and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, April 17
For Sunday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Nets superstar Kevin Durant, who is listed at $10,800 on DraftKings and $11,300 on FanDuel. In 12 playoff starts last season, Durant averaged 34.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals. Brooklyn and Boston meet for the second consecutive year in the first round, and in Game 4 of last year's series, he scored 42 points with five assists.
Durant played against Boston twice this season, and did well against one of the league's top defensive sides. In those two games, he averaged 29 points, and had 16 total assists with 10 total rebounds. In his most recent start against Boston on March 6, he scored 37 points and hit 4-of-9 3-point attempts.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Celtics center Daniel Theis ($4,900 on DraftKings and $4,100 on FanDuel). In his last playoff run with the Celtics in 2020, he started all 17 games, and averaged 8.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. However, over his last five games to close out the 2021-22 regular season, he has averaged 12.8 points to go with six rebounds.
Theis has had limited opportunities against Brooklyn this season, and wasn't active in what would have been his first game against the Nets this season while he was still with Houston. Otherwise, he didn't play a significant role against Brooklyn in two games after his return to Boston, as center Robert Williams was the Celtics' main big man prior to a meniscus injury that required surgery. In three starts and four total games against Brooklyn last season, Theis averaged 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds while hitting 65.2 percent of his shots.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, April 17
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.
