The Denver Nuggets have won three of their last four games, but are coming off of a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of their home game against LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Making things a little more complicated for the Nuggets and daily Fantasy players is Nikola Jokic (knee) and Jamal Murray (ankle) are listed with day-to-day injuries heading into the matchup. Both played in the Nuggets game against the Lakers, but should you be concerned about their status when building your NBA DFS lineups on Sunday?
Both stars shot over 50% from the floor against Los Angeles, and the Hornets come into Sunday on a seven-game losing streak. Jokic and Murray are each considered probable, and could be a strong stack combination in the NBA DFS player pool, as Charlotte allows the sixth-most points to opposing point guards (25.78 points per game) and gives up the third-most points in the paint as an away side (54.1) this season. Before you make 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 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 Saturday, he highlighted Suns guard Devin Booker as one of his top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Booker scored 58 points and had six rebounds with five assists to return 75 points on DraftKings and 70.7 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 NBA action on Sunday 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 18
One of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, who is listed at $10,200 on DraftKings and $9,600 on FanDuel. Siakam scored 17 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists in his last start on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets. He has cooled off a bit over his last three games since his strong run of play from the end of November and early December, but in his last 10 games overall, he has averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
The Raptors host Golden State on Sunday, who are without Stephen Curry (shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (adductor). Draymond Green (quad) is also listed as probable, but if he is favoring his injury, that could limit his ability to disrupt Siakam. In Siakam's only game against the Warriors last season, he scored 21 points with six rebounds, a steal and a block.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Warriors guard Jordan Poole ($7,900 on DraftKings and $7,700 on FanDuel). In the Warriors' first game since losing Curry, Poole scored a team-high 29 points on a 10-for-20 shooting night in a loss to Philadelphia on Friday. Over his last 10 games, Poole has made seven starts and averaged 23 points with 4.9 assists.
Also listed on the Warriors' injury report is Klay Thompson (knee), who is probable, but is perpetually monitored due to his significant recent leg injuries. Poole should look to take on the bulk of the offensive responsibility for Golden State on Sunday, as he has shot over 40% from 3-point range in two of his last three outings. In his lone game against the Raptors last season, Poole scored 33 points with four rebounds and four assists.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, December 18
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.
