The Sacramento Kings take the court on Monday for the first time since trading away All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox in a three-team deal for a package that included Bulls guard Zach LaVine and three first-round picks as a part of a wild NBA trading weekend. LaVine is unlikely to play for the Kings on Monday against the Timberwolves, and that could provide a boost to other Sacramento options from the NBA DFS player pool. Forward Keegan Murray is averaging 12 points per game, but he had 19 points on Jan. 10 with Fox sidelined, so could he return value for Monday NBA DFS lineups?
With 10 games on Monday’s NBA slate, there are plenty of ways to form an NBA DFS strategy. Fox likely won’t make his debut for the Spurs on Monday either. Guard Devin Vassell is second on the Spurs in scoring, and Victor Wembanyama (illness) is questionable, so that’s also something to monitor when making NBA DFS lineups. 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 Wednesday (when McClure last made NBA DFS picks), McClure highlighted Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome as an under-the-radar play for NBA DFS picks from the NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Jerome had 20 points, three rebounds and seven assists, returning 36.2 points on DraftKings and 35.1 points on FanDuel to return strong value at his price for NBA DFS lineups. 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.
For Monday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who is listed at $12,300 on DraftKings and $12,900 on FanDuel. The reigning NBA MVP had 28 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists, four steals and a block in a 107-104 victory over the Hornets on Saturday. Jokic is coming off his third MVP over the last four years as he’s put together one of the most offensively dominant multi-year runs in NBA history. The 6-foot-11 center is averaging a triple-double with 29.6 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game this season, ranking third in the league in points and rebounds and second in assists.
The Nuggets play the Pelicans, who rank 26th in scoring defense. The Pelicans are allowing 118.1 ppg this season, including 126 ppg over their current five-game losing streak. Jokic had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in their last meeting against New Orleans and although he’s the most expensive player in the NBA DFS player pool, Jokic is well worth the price for McClure.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Pelicans points guard Jose Alvarado ($4,800 on both DraftKings and FanDuel). The 26-year-old had 20 points and six assists in a 118-116 loss to the Celtics on Friday. He played 34 minutes, the most since Nov. 8, with the Pelicans battling key injuries. New Orleans will be without Dejounte Murray, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against Boston, and Brandon Ingram (ankle) remains out.
Alvarado’s price and minutes opportunity make him a strong value to surround a top player like Jokic for NBA DFS lineups as their two teams go head-to-head. He is averaging 17.1 points and 5.4 assists over the seven games he’s played at least 30 minutes this season. The Nuggets vs. Pelicans have an over/under of 241.5 points, which is one of the highest of the night according to the latest odds from the SportsLine consensus, and that can provide ample opportunities for NBA DFS points on both sides. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
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.
