The Dallas Mavericks welcomed center Kristaps Porzingis back to the roster Saturday against the Orlando Magic after missing seven games to comply with league health and safety protocols. He made four of his eight shots, including two three-pointers, to score 19 points in just under 28 minutes of action. Porzingis should be back among the starters on Monday night when the Mavs take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but should he also be in your NBA DFS rosters?
The Thunder have hovered around defending the last 10 Fantasy against opposing centers this season, and also allowed opponents to hold the second-highest rebounds per game average in the league. Porzingis landed seven boards against the Magic and should be positioned to grab more tonight. Before you set your NBA DFS picks for Monday, be sure to check out NBA DFS tips, player rankings, stacks and top daily fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.
McClure is a DFS pro with nearly $2 million in career earnings. He is also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine which uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as matches, statistical trends and injuries.
This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal rosters that he only shares on SportsLine. They are must-haves for any NBA DFS player.
On Sunday, McClure included Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Jokic recorded his second straight triple-double and ninth of the season in a loss to Utah. His 25 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists netted 72.75 points on DraftKings and 67 points on FanDuel. Everyone who included him in their lineups was well on his way to a profitable day.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to the NBA DFS slate for Monday, Jan. 17, and has locked down his daily top fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by going to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Monday, January 17
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Monday is Lakers superstar LeBron James, who is listed at $10,900 on DraftKings and $11,200 on FanDuel. Monday started with James’ wife Savannah trending on social media for her look in a fashionable black dress, but LeBron has also looked great in his last 10 starts. During that streak, he averaged 33.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, with 1.5 steals and blocks per game.
The Lakers close out the day’s program with a matchup against the Utah Jazz, who snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday with a 125-102 victory over Denver. The Lakers have yet to play Utah this season, and in the only game James played against the Jazz last season, he scored 19 points with four rebounds and four assists. The Lakers have designated James as their center in recent games, but he took 11 shots outside the paint in his last game, which should force Jazz center Rudy Gobert out of his comfort zone in defense if that’s the case again tonight.
Another key to McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Suns center JaVale McGee ($8,400 on DraftKings and $8,100 on FanDuel). The veteran center replaced Deandre Ayton on Sunday when the Suns starter left with an injured ankle. McGee made nine of 10 shots and finished with six rebounds and a block to go along with his 20 points in 15 minutes of relief work.
The Suns take on San Antonio on Monday night, which has been one of the top five fantasy games for opposing centers on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings this season. The last time the Spurs played against a dynamic center was Friday against Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen. Allen finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, so a sports center like McGee should be able to put up comparable numbers tonight in a road start with Ayton unavailable.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Monday, January 17
McClure is also targeting a player who could leave for massive numbers on Monday because of a dream game. This choice could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
So, who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting his NBA DFS rosters into optimal for Monday? Visit SportsLine now to see the best NBA DFS picks, rankings, tips and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has nearly $2 million in career earnings, and find out.
