The Detroit Pistons have a monumental task on Thursday as they’ll face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets with five of their top seven scorers sidelined. The two who will be playing — Jaden Ivey and James Wiseman — are a pair of top-5 picks who could also form a rather cheap NBA DFS stack versus Denver. Ivey has averaged 18.3 points and 10.3 assists over his last three games, while Wiseman has logged more double-doubles in 12 games with Detroit than he had in 60 games with the Warriors.
Using moderately-priced NBA DFS picks like the two Pistons would then allow you to still roster high-priced superstars from Thursday’s NBA DFS player pool. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and Domantas Sabonis are all available on Thursday, so which should you plug into your daily Fantasy basketball lineups? Before making any 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 over $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 highlighted Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan as one of his top NBA DFS picks. The result: DeRozan produced 33 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, returning 46.25 points on DraftKings and 45.1 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 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, March 16
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Thursday is Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie ($7,900 on DraftKings and $8,700 on FanDuel). Brooklyn has unlocked something with Dinwiddie ever since he sat out last Thursday’s game as he’s averaged 20 points, 12.7 assists, and 5 rebounds over the three games since then. His three highest assist totals of the season have come in these three games as he had 11 assists on Friday, 16 on Sunday and 11 on Tuesday.
Dinwiddie should have every opportunity to rack up lots of stats again on Thursday against a team that loves to get up and down the court in Sacramento. The Kings allow the third-most points per game in the NBA, and their defense has gotten worse as the season has gone on. Sacramento has allowed 126.3 PPG over its last 10 games, which is nearly 10 more points per game than the 117.2 PPG it allowed through its first 58 contests.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray ($7,700 on DraftKings, $8,200 on FanDuel). Murray is probable with a knee injury but is expected to suit up after last playing on Tuesday. Over his last eight games, Murray is averaging 20.5 points, 6.8 assists and 1.6 steals, which are all above his season averages.
Murray should be eager to take the floor against the Pistons’ defense that ranks 28th in defensive rating and 29th in points allowed per game. Detroit has allowed the second-most Fantasy points to opposing point guards on FanDuel and the third-most on DraftKings. Three of the nine players Detroit used in its last game were either on two-way contracts or 10-day contracts, so don’t hesitate to utilize Murray against the depleted Pistons.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, March 16
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.
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 over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.