The NBA rumor mill is heating up ahead of the trade deadline next month, and two of the most-discussed players recently have been the Indiana Pacers duo of Myles Turner and Caris LeVert. Turner is out of action with a foot injury that is likely to keep him out for another couple of weeks. Meanwhile, LeVert has been working up a hot streak that could be worth tapping into when considering your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday.
In four starts since returning from a five-game health and safety protocols absence, he has increased his point totals in each start. His most recent outing was Wednesday when he hit 75 percent of his shots to score 30 points to go with eight rebounds in a win over the Lakers. The Pacers are back in action tonight against the Warriors but is LeVert a strong option in the NBA DFS player pool as well? Before making your NBA DFS picks for Thursday, 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 Wednesday, McClure included Hawks point guard Trae Young as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Young finished with 37 points, 14 assists and five rebounds to return 68.25 points on DraftKings and 62 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 Thursday, January 20, 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 Thursday, January 20
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Thursday is Suns guard Devin Booker, who is listed at $8,300 on DraftKings and $9,000 on FanDuel. Booker is coming off a season-high 48-point performance in his last game against San Antonio on Monday. He’s scored at least 30 points in each of his last three games and in seven of his 14 starts since returning from a hamstring injury in early December.
The Suns play the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, and the last time Booker saw them was when they played consecutive games in mid-November. Booker scored 43 total points and hit 41.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Over his last three games, Booker has made 52.6 percent of his shots from the field, as well as 38.7 percent of his threes.
Another key in McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga ($4,300 on DraftKings and $5,900 on FanDuel). Kuminga has seen an expanded role in Golden State’s rotation in his last five games, and he picked up his third start of the season on Tuesday against Detroit. He finished with a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
Kuminga has reached double-figure point totals in each of his last five games, highlighted by 25 points off the bench in a dominating win over the Chicago Bulls on January 14. The Warriors forwards are a beat-up group with Draymond Green (back), Otto Porter Jr. (knee) and Andre Iguodala (hip) all dealing with varying degrees of injury. Kuminga had the second-highest usage rate amongst the starters on Tuesday at 24.8 percent, signaling that he won’t get passed over in the crowded Warriors offense on Thursday.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, January 20
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.
So 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 almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.