All 30 NBA teams have played at least one game, and with 10 games on the Friday slate, what should you take from teams’ openers to carry into your Friday NBA DFS strategy? Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu had 28 points and eight rebounds in the opener after averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season, so is the fifth-year player set to take on an impactful role and serve as a value for NBA DFS picks?
Grizzlies power forward Santi Aldama was another breakout star in the opener with 27 points after averaging 10.7 points per game last season. Should daily Fantasy basketball players expect players with hot starts to carry that over into Friday when forming an NBA DFS strategy? Or should you prioritize career success from stars like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant over a one-game sample for 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 Thursday, McClure highlighted Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Tatum had 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, returning 52.2 points on DraftKings and 49.2 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
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 Friday, October 25
For Friday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Lakers forward LeBron James, who is listed at $8,900 on DraftKings and $9,600 on FanDuel. The four-time NBA MVP didn’t have his typically statistically dominant performance in the Lakers’ opener as James finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Maybe some of that can be attributed to the pompous circumstances of opening night and playing with his son, Bronny James, to become the first father-son duo to play an NBA game together. So with Friday against the Suns being just another regular-season contest, we may see the James results daily Fantasy basketball players are used to.
James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game in his 21st NBA season last year. There are no signs of one of the greatest players of all-time slowing down yet after averaging at least 25 points per game for his 20th straight season and recording his most assists since the 2019-20 campaign. McClure expects a vintage James performance on Friday.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Magic guard Jalen Suggs ($4,800 on DraftKings and $5,500 on FanDuel). The 23-year-old had 11 points, two rebounds and four assists on 3 of 4 shooting in just 13 minutes in the season opener. Suggs, who signed a five-year, $150.5 million extension this week, averaged 12.6 points over 27 minutes last season. He battled some early foul trouble in the first game, but given Orlando played well early in its 116-97 victory over the Heat on Wednesday, Suggs played less than his norm.
But the rookie contract extension worth more than $30 million a year is a clear sign the Magic have belief in Suggs. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft averaged 14.7 ppg during the playoffs last year for Orlando, finishing as the third-leading scorer. Suggs had 14 points in his final game against the Nets last season and after Brooklyn allowed 120 points in its season-opener, this could be a strong matchup at a cheaper price for Suggs in NBA DFS lineups. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, October 25
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.
