The NBA returns to competitive action on Thursday after a week off from regular-season contests. Depending on who you ask, the NBA All-Star Game may or may not count as competitive action, so all players should have received significant rest since last taking the floor for their teams last week. The rested NBA DFS player pool, combined with a 12-game slate, means there are many avenues daily Fantasy basketball players can take when forming their NBA DFS strategy and NBA DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Should you form your NBA DFS lineup with elite superstars such as Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum with some significantly cheaper pieces for NBA DFS picks? Or, could a strong NBA DFS strategy feature taking many similarly priced players for a balanced lineup? The return from the All-Star break doesn’t come at the exact midway point of the NBA season, but it often creates an increased sense or urgency for the postseason push, so how should that affect your NBA DFS strategy? 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 the Thursday before the NBA All-Star break, McClure highlighted Jazz guard Keyonte George as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: George had 33 points, two rebounds, six assists and three steals, returning 54 points on DraftKings and 51.4 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 22
For Thursday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who is listed at $11,600 on DraftKings and $12,100 on FanDuel. Jokic is having another MVP-caliber season, posting 26.1 points with 12 rebounds and 8.9 assists per contest. The 6-foot-11 center is fourth in the NBA in rebounds and assists this season, and a rested Jokic will likely be a dangerous Jokic on Thursday night.
Jokic is averaging the second-most rebounds over his eight-year career while averaging at least 26 points for the third time in the last four seasons. The six-time All-Star is about as safe of a play as there is on a nightly basis for NBA DFS lineups due to his ability to contribute in every aspect of the game offensively. The Nuggets play the Wizards, who are allowing the most points in the NBA (123.9 ppg). The two-time NBA MVP had 42 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in his first meeting of the year against Washington and is averaging 38.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists over his last three games against the Wizards.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes again rostering Jazz guard George ($4,700 on DraftKings and $5,800 on FanDuel). Even after scoring 33 points with six assists on Thursday in his final game before the NBA All-Star break, George’s price remains relatively unchanged on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. The No. 16 overall pick in the NBA Draft has taken on a much larger role in recent contests, scoring at least 10 points in nine of his last 10 games while averaging six assists over his last four contests.
The 20-year-old is averaging 11.7 points and 4.3 assists per game and has played at least 29 minutes in each of his last four games. The Jazz play the Hornets, who turned a 10-game losing streak into a three-game winning streak before the All-Star break. But still, the Hornets are allowing the seventh-most ppg (119.4), and George had 10 points in only 13 minutes in their first meeting this season. With George receiving a much larger workload now than he did in the first meeting, McClure expects the rookie to continue to outperform his price tag for NBA DFS lineups on Thursday. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, February 22
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.