Although Thursday's NBA DFS player pool features only four teams, that doesn't mean there is a lack of options for the savvy owner. Chris Paul (17.5 points per game) and the Oklahoma City Thunder have knocked off the New Orleans Pelicans three times in 2019-20, and look to complete a season sweep at 8 p.m. ET. New Orleans was without rookie sensation Zion Williamson, though, in those first three matchups while the former Duke superstar was recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum and Paul George will be among the top NBA DFS stacks Thursday when the Los Angeles Clippers play at the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m. ET. Before entering an NBA DFS tournament like FanDuel's $350K Thursday NBA Shot Machine or the $400K Fadeaway on DraftKings, be sure to check out the NBA DFS strategy from Mike McClure, a daily Fantasy pro who has won almost $2 million.

McClure is 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.

McClure rolled through the 2018-19 NBA season, producing multiple lineups that led to huge returns for followers, including as much as 40x on FanDuel and 84x on DraftKings. He saw multiple huge cashes again early in the 2019-20 NBA season and got 2020 off to a blistering start with his optimal lineup returning at least 7x on DraftKings on three of the first five days of the new year. Anybody following him has seen huge returns. 

Now, he's turned his attention to Thursday's NBA schedule. Head to SportsLine to see his optimal NBA DFS picks. Now, here are five of the most expensive players in Thursday's NBA DFS player pool:

McClure's top NBA DFS picks for Thursday

For Thursday, McClure is high on Williamson at $7,700 on FanDuel and $7,800 on DraftKings. Williamson scored a career-high 31 points (10-17 FG, 0-1 threes, 11-14 FT) to go with nine rebounds, five assists and a steal Tuesday against the Trail Blazers. Williamson has been an NBA DFS machine, delivering at least 26 daily Fantasy points in every game he has played so far this season and popping for 50 DFS points against Portland.

Williamson has scored at least 20 points in all but two games since making his debut in late January, and is averaging 21.0 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting in his first nine NBA contests. The powerful rookie is a focal point of the Pelicans offense every time he takes the court, and should be even more of a threat Thursday if Brandon Ingram (ankle) can't go.

Part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy Thursday also includes rostering Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul ($7,800 on FanDuel, $7,100 on DraftKings). Paul erupted for 31 points (12-18 FG, 5-9 threes, 2-2 FT), seven assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block Tuesday against the Spurs. It marked the third time CP3 has gotten to 30 points this season – all since the start of December.

After starting slow this season, Paul has developed into the top scoring threat for the Thunder this season, scoring at least 20 points in four of his last five games and averaging 17.5 points per game in 2019-20. Paul and the Thunder get the Pelicans on Thursday, a team that ranks 24th in the NBA defending his position. 

How to set your NBA DFS lineups on Thursday

McClure is also targeting another player who has a dream matchup on Thursday. The stars are aligning for him to return 50, even 60 points on DraftKings and FanDuel. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing.

So who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineup on Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see the full NBA DFS optimal tournament and cash game lineups from a professional DFS player who has almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.