A case rarely needs to be made for Nikola Jokic to be included in NBA DFS lineups, but his stock could be particularly high on Friday. The Denver Nuggets take on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, who have allowed opposing centers to hit 37% of their 3-point attempts this season. Jokic hit 66.7% of his threes against Portland last year, and although he has made just 32.8% in 2022-23, he has made 50.9% of his 3-point attempts over his last three starts.
While Jokic is always perched atop the NBA DFS player pool, Aaron Gordon has also been a strong second option over his last seven games. During that run, he has hit 61.1% of his shots, 44.4% of his threes, and averaged 20.6 points with 5.9 rebounds. Before you make your 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, he highlighted Pelicans guard CJ McCollum as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: McCollum finished as the top-scoring Fantasy point guard, with 40 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and two blocks to return 70.5 points on DraftKings and 67.1 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, December 23
One of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who is listed at $12,500 on DraftKings and $11,800 on FanDuel. Doncic scored 25 points with 10 assists, nine rebounds and three steals in his last start against Minnesota on Wednesday. He has been battling a nagging quad injury for much of the month but has averaged 29.8 points, 8.8 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in December.
On Friday, the Mavericks are at Houston, but Doncic was given the night off when the two played each other earlier this season. In two games against the Rockets last year, he scored 56 total points with 28 rebounds and 13 assists. Meanwhile, the Rockets allow the most points to the point guard position in the NBA, at 28.04 per game.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Lakers center Thomas Bryant (6,100 on DraftKings and FanDuel). Over his last four games, Bryant has averaged 17.5 points with 7.8 rebounds. With Anthony Davis (foot) out, Bryant has flourished, and he has started the last three games.
On Friday, the Lakers close out the NBA schedule with a game against Charlotte. The Hornets have allowed the second-most attempts in the restricted area (9.2) which is great for opposing big men. Bryant has also made 47.6% of his 3-pointers, and Charlotte has allowed centers to hit 41.9% of their right corner threes, where Bryant is 4-for-6 this year.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, December 23
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.
