Two of the most dynamic guards in the NBA will go head-to-head on Friday when the Philadelphia 76ers host the Atlanta Hawks. Tyrese Maxey is among the NBA scoring leaders at 26.9 points per game, while Dejounte Murray fills up the box score and racks up NBA DFS points on a nightly basis with averages of 20 points, 5.3 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Murray had 32 points and 10 assists in his lone game this year without Trae Young, and the Hawks point guard is out tonight (illness). So, should daily Fantasy basketball players include Murray in NBA DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings?
Friday has a near-full slate with the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament concluding on Saturday. With 13 games on the Friday schedule, how should you form your NBA DFS strategy? The Hawks vs. 76ers matchup also features the highest over/under (241 points) on the day, so is that a reason to target that contest for NBA DFS stacks? Before making your 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 and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
On Thursday, 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 37 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks, returning 57.5 points on DraftKings and 57 points on FanDuel. 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 for Friday, December 8
For Friday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Raptors power forward/center Pascal Siakam, who is listed at $8,100 on DraftKings and $8,400 on FanDuel. Siakam had 30 points, four rebounds and six assists on 69.2% shooting against the Heat on Wednesday. The 29-year-old is averaging 20.5 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game this season coming off a career-best 24.2 points per game last year.
The Raptors play the Hornets, who are one of five teams in the NBA this season allowing more than 120 points per game (121.6 ppg). Opposing teams have the sixth-highest shooting percentage (48.8%) against the Hornets, and with Siakam leading Toronto in scoring, that should play to his advantage. Siakam is averaging 31 points on 66% shooting over his last three contests against the Hornets, and McClure expects another big performance on Friday.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Suns forward Keita Bates-Diop ($4,500 on DraftKings and $4,000 on FanDuel). The six-year veteran could find himself in a position to significantly outperform his price tag with Kevin Durant (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back) out. He's not the player who's going to win an NBA DFS tournament by himself, but there will be more shots to go around on Friday without those two strong scorers, which should favor Bates-Diop.
Bates-Diop had nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block over 28 minutes against the Knicks with Durant out of the lineup. He had 11 field goal attempts in that game, which signals the opportunities should be there for Bates-Diop against the Kings, who play at the ninth-fastest pace in the NBA. He's a quality piece for NBA DFS lineups to allow you to also utilize higher-priced players. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, December 8
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.
