Daily Fantasy basketball owners will have no shortage of elite NBA DFS picks at their disposal with Friday's NBA schedule. Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell and Domantas Sabonis are all available as they attempt to improve their respective teams' playoff positioning. But a number of stars -- such as Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton -- are out on Friday, thus providing opportunities for others to step up in NBA DFS lineups.
Rookie Shaedon Sharpe has exploded in Lillard's absence by averaging 23.8 points and 6.6 rebounds over his last five games. That includes a 30-point performance versus De'Aaron Fox and the Kings on Wednesday, with the two having a rematch on Friday. Given their differing NBA DFS price tags, there are compelling reasons to roster Sharpe in your NBA DFS lineups instead of Fox. But, before making any NBA DFS picks for Friday, 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 over $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 Nuggets guard Jamal Murray as one of his top NBA DFS picks. The result: Murray had 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal, returning 39.5 points on DraftKings and 37.3 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, 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, March 31
One of McClure's top NBA DFS picks for Friday is Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga ($4,300 on DraftKings and $5,100 on FanDuel). Kuminga continues to be the primary beneficiary of Andrew Wiggins' absence, and the second-year player logged 31 minutes in his last game. Over his last 12 contests, Kuminga is averaging 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals while knocking down a blistering 58.3% of his shots.
A matchup with San Antonio's 30th-ranked defense awaits on Friday which should be music to the ears of Kuminga's Fantasy owners. The Spurs are allowing 132.8 points per game over their last four, and they've allowed 41-point outings in back-to-back games to Boston's Jaylen Brown and Utah's Talen Horton-Tucker during that stretch.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Pacers forward Jordan Nwora ($5,800 on DraftKings, $5,400 on FanDuel). Nwora was a trade deadline acquisition by Indiana after getting inconsistent playing time with the Bucks. He's carved out a regular role with the Pacers and has reached double-figures in 14 of his last 16 games.
That includes a 33-point outing last Saturday versus Atlanta and an 18-point performance on Wednesday against Milwaukee. Nwora will be forced to be a big part of Indiana's offense on Friday with Haliburton out. And he has the perfect opponent to go off against as Oklahoma City just allowed PF P.J. Washington to amass 43 points, six rebounds and five assists in a Tuesday loss to the Hornets.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, March 31
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.
