To say the Philadelphia 76ers have been ravished by injury and unfortunate circumstances doesn't seem to serve the situation justice. Just when the 76ers received Paul George (knee) back from injury, a new injury occurred with Tyrese Maxey (hamstring) expected to miss multiple weeks. Joel Embiid missed the start of the season with a knee injury and is currently serving a suspension after an altercation with a reporter, so he remains out on Friday when the 76ers play LeBron James and the Lakers. L.A. could be at less than full strength as well as Anthony Davis (foot) is probable but missed Wednesday's game.
How should all of this affect your Friday NBA DFS strategy? There are 13 games on the Friday NBA schedule, so daily Fantasy basketball players could avoid this matchup altogether, but there could be the chance to find value in the NBA DFS player pool with multiple 76ers stars out and Davis possibly out or playing limited minutes for 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 Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Westbrook had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists, returning 47 points on DraftKings and 44.2 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 8
For Friday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic, who is listed at $11,600 on DraftKings and $11,500 on FanDuel. Doncic is fifth in the NBA in scoring (28.6 points per game) and assists (8.1 per game) while also adding 8.1 rebounds. He's had a double-double in back-to-back games with 27 points and 13 assists on Wednesday after posting 34 points and 15 assists on Monday. He added seven rebounds in each of those contests as one of the top scorers for NBA DFS lineups this week.
The Mavericks play the Suns on Friday, and Doncic has had many strong performances against Phoenix lately. He scored at least 40 points in three of their four meetings with it, including a 50-point outburst on Christmas Day. Doncic has averaged 41.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.8 assists over his last four games against the Suns. Doncic had 40 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against the Suns earlier this season, and McClure expects another huge performance in their second meeting of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Knicks guard/forward Mikal Bridges ($6,100 on DraftKings and $6,500 on FanDuel). The 28-year-old is off to a slower start as he's forming chemistry with his new teammates in New York, but the talent is undeniable. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft averaged 19.6 points per game with the Nets last season after averaging 20.1 points the season before.
Bridges is averaging 16.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists over his first seven games in New York. He's scored double-digit points in all seven games though, so the floor is there, and a matchup against the Bucks may be what's needed to see Bridges' ceiling. The Bucks ranked 21st in scoring defense last year and rank 20th in points allowed this year. Bridges also scored at least 24 points in two of his three games against the Bucks last season, and with his price dipped a bit due to his lack of dominance this season, McClure sees value in Bridges for Friday NBA DFS lineups. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, November 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.