After missing 30 games due to an Achilles’ injury, Anthony Davis is expected to make his return to action on Thursday. Davis is listed as probable and the Los Angeles Lakers are certainly eager to get him back as they’ve been under .500 during his absence. He’s been a no-brainer for NBA DFS lineups when healthy, but injuries have afflicted him in nearly every season of his career. His expected return on Thursday would make Davis one of the top options in the NBA DFS player pool, especially with LeBron James (ankle) still on the sideline.
Davis’ price tag ($9,400 on DraftKings, $9,600 on FanDuel) indicates those sites are expecting him to be a full-go vs. Dallas. But part of your NBA DFS strategy should take into consideration the possibility that the Lakers will limit his minutes after not playing in over two months. Thus, you should scour the entire NBA DFS player pool to see if there are any options better than Davis given his cost. Before locking in any NBA DFS picks for Thursday’s action, be sure to see the NBA DFS advice, player rankings 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.
And on Wednesday, McClure included Nets guard Kyrie Irving as one of his top picks. The result: Irving went off for 28 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals, producing over 62 points on DraftKings which is his most this season. Anybody who had him in their lineup was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to the Thursday, April 22 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, April 22
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Thursday is Hornets forward P.J. Washington for $5,900 on DraftKings and $6,500 on FanDuel. Washington missed three games last week but has looked fully healthy in his two games since returning, averaging 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
Washington came off the bench in those two games and it appears that will be his role at least for the time being. Coach James Borrego said that Washington will see more playing time at center and he’s adapting well to his new role as he’s coming off back-to-back games with over 20 points for the first time all season. With LaMelo Ball (wrist) and Gordon Hayward (foot) both still injured, the Hornets needed to get creative to find more offense and Washington’s recent success shows that it has done just that.
Part of McClure’s NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Washington with Hornets guard Terry Rozier ($8,400 on DraftKings, $7,800 on FanDuel), who is averaging 26.0 points, 9.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game over his last four contests. He is averaging 38.0 minutes per game over his last nine outing and should see similar playing time vs. a struggling Bulls squad on Thursday.
Now in his sixth NBA season, and second with Charlotte, Rozier is averaging a career-high of 20.7 points per game. He’s become a marksman from beyond the arc and has knocked down 182 3-point field goals, which ranks sixth in the league. Rozier can go off in any game as he has two games with over 40 points this season while having another six contests with over 30 points.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, April 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.
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.