Damian Lillard continues to impress in Portland, both for Blazers fans and NBA DFS owners. Lillard is among the superstar NBA DFS picks in action Thursday, bringing his 29.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game into a key matchup against the Utah Jazz at 10 p.m. ET. But Lillard won’t be the only strong NBA DFS choice on the court in Salt Lake City, as Jazz standout Donovan Mitchell is delivering 25.8 points per game.
Lillard will set daily Fantasy basketball owners back $9,500 on DraftKings and $9,200 on FanDuel, so rostering him means budgeting wisely across the rest of the NBA DFS player pool. Are you wise to roster either Lillard or Mitchell ($8,600 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel) as part of your Thursday NBA DFS strategy? Before locking in any NBA DFS lineups for Thursday’s action, be sure to see the NBA DFS advice, player rankings and top daily Fantasy basketball lineups 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 Pelicans guard Eric Bledsoe in his core lineup picks. The result: Bledsoe went off for 26 points and five assists, returning over 34 points on DraftKings. 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 8 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 8
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for his Thursday NBA Daily Fantasy lineups is Bucks forward Khris Middleton at $7,800 on DraftKings and $8,200 on FanDuel. Middleton is delivering 20.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this season. That includes a 28-point, two-rebound, seven-assist effort Tuesday against the Warriors.
Middleton has been strong in his last four games, dropping 20.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in that span. Those marks have been good for a per-game average of over 38 NBA DFS points on DraftKings over those four outings. Middleton and the Bucks get the Mavericks on Thursday, a team he went off for 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists — worth 45.5 NBA DFS points on DraftKings — against on Jan. 15. Plus, with Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) doubtful, Milwaukee will need every bit of Middleton’s scoring skills.
Part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy on Thursday includes rostering Pistons center Isaiah Stewart at $4,100 on DraftKings and $3,700 on FanDuel. The rookie from Washington is scoring 6.5 points and grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game while playing 19.4 minutes per contest this season. That includes a nine-point, eight-rebound night Tuesday against the Nuggets.
The 16th overall pick in last year’s draft is giving 7.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during 23.3 minutes per outing in his last four games — good for over 20 NBA DFS points per game on DraftKings in that span. With Jahlil Okafor (knee) and Mason Plumlee (head) questionable and Jerami Grant (knee) ruled out fo a matchup with the Kings on Thursday, look for Stewart to once again be a solid NBA DFS contributor at a cheap price.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, April 8
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.