Nikola Jokic being out on Friday for personal reasons creates a substantial shakeup in the NBA DFS player pool. Jokic leads the NBA in both rebounds and assists, in addition to being fifth in scoring at 29.7 points per game. Jokic being out creates substantial opportunities for other Denver options to generate NBA DFS points on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, so who are some of the top values on the Nuggets to consider when making NBA DFS lineups as they take on Brandon Ingram and the Pelicans?
Daily Fantasy basketball players may want to consider veterans like Russell Westbrook or DeAndre Jordan to outperform their price tags for Friday. Or, could this be a chance for a younger player like Peyton Watson, a 6-foot-7 forward who was the No. 30 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, to emerge? Jamal Murray could put together a top performance, and he'll likely be a popular option for Friday NBA DFS lineups. Before making any 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 on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel 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 Bucks power forward/center Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Antetokounmpo had 59 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals, returning 97.5 points on DraftKings and 98.3 points on FanDuel for NBA DFS lineups. 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 Friday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks Friday, November 15
For Friday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Hawks point guard Trae Young, who is listed at $9,900 on DraftKings and $9,400 on FanDuel. Young is coming off a season-high 16 assists against the Bulls on Wednesday as he's second in the league in assists (11.5 per game). Even on nights when Young has struggled with his shot over the last two weeks, he continues to generate NBA DFS points with his facilitating. He's shot less than 38% from the field in three of his last four games, but he still had a double-double in three of those contests.
If there's ever a matchup that can break a shooting slump, it's against Washington. The Wizards are allowing 123.4 points per game, the most in the league, after also having the worst-scoring defense last year. Washington allowed 139 points to the Spurs on Wednesday, and Young has scored at least 36 points in each of his last four games against the Wizards.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Raptors guard Davion Mitchell ($5,100 on DraftKings and $4,500 on FanDuel). Mitchell is averaging 8.3 points and 6.2 assists, and he's coming off having eight assists over 33 minutes against the Bucks on Tuesday. With Scottie Barnes (eye) still out and Immanuel Quickley set to miss more time with an elbow injury, the Raptors are running thin on options. Mitchell scored 20 points over 32 minutes against the Kings on Nov. 6, and after playing fewer than 25 minutes in the next two contests, he's back to seeing more than 30 minutes due to Quickley's injury.
Mitchell is still priced as a reserve playing limited minutes, which is why McClure sees value in adding him to Friday NBA DFS lineups. The Raptors play the Pistons, who went 14-68 last season, and they return to Toronto, where they've played far better this season. Toronto is 2-10 overall but 2-3 at home, and the Raptors have scored at least 125 points in three straight home games. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, November 15
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday 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 Friday? 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.