The Brooklyn Nets roster has been ravaged by injuries and players required to enter into the NBA health and safety protocols. The situation is so dire that Kyrie Irving is set to return to the team only for road games, as he continues to defy New York's COVID vaccine mandate. However, Irving is one of 10 Brooklyn players in the league's health and safety protocols. In the meantime, Patty Mills has been a strong complementary scorer for the Nets and a reliable addition to NBA DFS lineups.
Over the last four games, Mills has averaged 21.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists -- all significant increases over his season stats in those categories. Brooklyn hosts the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, who have had mixed results defending opposing point guards in recent games. Is Mills, who has been playing close to 39 minutes per game over his last four starts, a smart selection for Sunday's NBA DFS player pool? Before making your NBA DFS picks for Sunday, 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 nearly $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 Saturday, McClure had Magic forward Chuma Okeke as one of his top NBA DFS picks on FanDuel and DraftKings. The result: Okeke turned in his second-best Fantasy performance of the season, with 15 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks to return 32.5 points on DraftKings and 33.7 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 the Sunday, December 19 NBA DFS slate and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, December 19
One of McClure's top Sunday NBA DFS picks is Atlanta forward John Collins at $6,700 on DraftKings and $7,400 on FanDuel. Collins was the Hawks' second-leading scorer on Friday night in a loss against Denver, finishing with 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and two steals. Atlanta plays Cleveland on Sunday, who Collins played poorly against in the Hawks' second game of the season.
However, Collins has given daily Fantasy players reason for optimism in the rematch. Over the last six games, he's shot over 50 percent from the field and averaged 19.8 points per game. Additionally, Collins has also pulled down 8.5 rebounds during that stretch and hit 38.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton ($6,900 on DraftKings and $7,700 on FanDuel). Haliburton is coming off of his season-high for points scored in a game after he put up 21 points with 10 assists on Friday against Memphis. On Sunday, the Kings host San Antonio, which allowed the Utah backcourt tandem of Mike Conley Jr. and Donovan Mitchell to score 45 points in a shootout win on Friday night.
Haliburton missed the Kings' previous meeting with the Spurs this season, but he was effective against San Antonio last year. In those two starts against the Spurs, he averaged 16.5 points and six assists. Over his last seven starts this season, Haliburton has shot 51.4 percent from the field and made 18-of-36 3-point attempts. San Antonio opponents have hit 36.4 percent of their 3-pointers this year, so Haliburton should be in line for another strong shooting night.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, December 19
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Sunday 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.
So who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Sunday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.