Only five teams in NBA history have won more consecutive games than the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-0) to begin a season, and history indicates this as a sign of a deep postseason run. All five teams who won at least 13 games went on to at least reach the conference finals with four teams playing in the NBA Finals. But signs of a strong postseason won't do daily Fantasy basketball players much good on Friday, however, Cleveland options in the NBA DFS player pool should remain at the forefront of developing an NBA DFS strategy for Friday.
The Cavs could be without their two standout big men in Evan Mobley (questionable, illness) and Jarrett Allen (probable, leg), so those are injuries to monitor ahead of Cleveland playing the Bulls on Friday. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 23.6 points with Darius Garland adding 20.5 points per game, so should you highlight the Cleveland guards in a DFS stack when making 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 Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham ($9,300 on DraftKings and $9,500 on FanDuel). Cunningham had 35 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and two steals against the Bucks on Wednesday. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft is averaging 23.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. Those are all career highs as Cunningham could be playing his way into his first career All-Star appearance.
The Pistons play the Raptors, who enter on a five-game losing streak and are 2-10 this season. Although the Pistons are 5-8 this year, they could still be in the running for one of the most improved teams in the league after going 14-68 last season. Cunningham's ascension to becoming a star is a key reason for the team's stronger start this year. He's averaging 24.5 ppg over his last two contests against the Raptors, who are allowing the third-most points in the league (120.8 ppg). 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.