Miami was one win away from the NBA Finals last year, but now it's one loss away from not even making the 2023 NBA Playoffs. That's despite the Heat getting a throwback game from Kyle Lowry in the NBA Play-In Tournament as the veteran dropped a season-high of 33 points in a loss to Atlanta. Lowry's NBA DFS price tags on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings won't hurt your salary cap too much, so is he worth slotting into Friday's NBA DFS lineups in a win-or-go-home situation?
Lowry had his worst game of the year against Chicago earlier this year, scoring just two points in 35 minutes of action. So, should you put more stock into that game or his most recent performance when crafting your NBA DFS strategy? Before making 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 Wednesday, McClure highlighted Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan as one of his top NBA DFS picks. The result: DeRozan had 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, returning 39.75 points on DraftKings and 40.9 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, April 14
One of McClure's top NBA DFS picks for Friday is Thunder guard Josh Giddey ($8,900 on DraftKings and $8,400 on FanDuel). Playing in the first playoff-like game of his career, the second-year Australian didn't disappoint on Wednesday against the Pelicans. Giddey nearly logged a triple-double with 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while knocking down 50% from the field and 43% from the 3-point line.
Giddey was a stat-stuffing maven all season as he logged four triple-doubles and averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. During the regular season, Giddey piled up three double-doubles in four games against Friday's opponent in the Timberwolves. Minnesota has also struggled all year against opposing point guards, allowing the fifth-most Fantasy points to the position on DraftKings and the eighth-most on FanDuel.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bulls center Nikola Vucevic ($7,500 on DraftKings, $8,100 on FanDuel). Vucevic has averaged a double-double nine times in his career, and that's exactly what he supplied in Wednesday's play-in game. He had 14 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with four assists, a steal and a block.
Vucevic was both productive and efficient against Miami's No. 2 scoring defense in the regular season. He averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 63.2% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc across three matchups with the Heat. Making Vucevic even that more appealing for Friday's NBA DFS lineups is that in Miam's first play-in game, it allowed opposing centers Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu to combine for 16 points, 25 rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, April 14
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.
