Injuries create opportunities for daily Fantasy basketball players seeking top values in the NBA DFS player pool, and Dallas is the place to look for just that. The Mavericks have been dealing with multiple injuries over recent weeks, most notably Luka Doncic (calf) who has been out since Christmas. Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Maxi Kleber (foot) are two big men out for Dallas, and center Daniel Gafford has taken advantage of his expanded minutes. Gafford has three double-doubles over his last four games, including 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in a game last week, so is he one to strongly consider for your NBA DFS strategy against the Wizards on Monday?
Washington has the worst scoring defense in the league, allowing 122.1 ppg, so Monday could be an attractive day to use multiple Mavericks like Gafford, Kyrie Irving or PJ Washington in NBA DFS lineups. With a 12-game slate on Monday and an NBA DFS player pool filled with stars like Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and Zion Williamson, who should you include in your NBA DFS strategy? 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 Tuesday (when McClure last made NBA DFS picks), McClure highlighted 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey as one of his top NBA DFS picks from the NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Maxey had 28 points, two rebounds, 10 assists and two steals, returning 51.5 points on DraftKings and 49.4 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day.
McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Monday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Monday, January 27
For Monday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who is listed at $12,000 on DraftKings and $12,800 on FanDuel. Jokic had his five-game triple-double streak snapped on Saturday in a 133-104 loss to the Timberwolves, but even in an off game for him, he still had 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting (69.2%) with 11 assists and three rebounds. The 28-year-old is third in the league in points (29.9) and rebounds (13.1) while second in assists (10.1) per game this season. He has shot better than 63% from the field in five straight games and is 14th in the league at 56.7% shooting this season.
Jokic was coming off an elite NBA DFS performance the game before Saturday with 35 points, 22 rebounds and 17 assists on Thursday, and he has the potential to post those statistics on a nightly basis. Saturday was the first game since January 3 the Nuggets lost with Jokic in the lineup, and he had 46 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in his first game following that loss. McClure expects another huge performance against the Bulls, who are allowing the second-most points (120 ppg) this season.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Timberwolves power forward/center Naz Reid ($5,700 on DraftKings and $6,000 on FanDuel). Reid is averaging 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season, including averaging 16.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in January. Donte DiVincenzo (toe) remains out for the next few weeks, elevating Reid to the team’s No. 3 active scorer, and the injury allows him more opportunities to create his own offense.
The Timberwolves are playing the Hawks, who are 28th in scoring defense at 118.9 ppg this season. Atlanta enters on a four-game losing streak, allowing 118 ppg over that span. Reid had 23 points in 29 minutes against Atlanta in their first matchup this season as he shot 10 of 19 (52.6% from the field). McClure loves the combination of matchup and price for Reid in Monday NBA DFS lineups. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Monday, January 27
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Monday 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 Monday? 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.