The Saturday NBA schedule has a pair of marquee games in the Eastern Conference as the Brooklyn Nets host the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks host the Miami Heat. All four of those teams have considerable star power, but some key pieces will be missing with Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), Bam Adebayo (thumb) and Jimmy Butler (tailbone) out, while Chicago defensive guru Alex Caruso is questionable with a hamstring injury. However, those absences could create some opportunities for NBA daily Fantasy players, and finding affordable options stepping into larger roles can unlock some intriguing NBA DFS lineup combinations.
Tyler Herro will obviously take on an even larger role in the Miami offense with Butler and Adebayo on the sidelines and he dropped 27 points in just 24 minutes against the Bucks in the season opener. So should you be rostering Herro on Saturday or looking elsewhere in the NBA DFS player pool with the Bucks likely to be keying in on him? Before making any NBA DFS picks for Saturday, 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 nearly $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 Friday, McClure listed 76ers center Joel Embiid as one of his top NBA DFS picks on FanDuel and DraftKings. The result: Embiid scored 28 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked two shots, which returned 55.5 points on DraftKings and 54.4 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 the Saturday, December 4 NBA DFS slate and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Saturday, December 4
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Saturday includes Trail Blazers point guard Dennis Smith Jr. at $3,400 on DraftKings and $4,400 on FanDuel. With Damian Lillard (abdominal) and Anfernee Simons (ankle) out, Smith slides into the starting lineup at point guard after having played sparingly this season.
In his career as a starter, Smith has averaged 14.1 points and 5.0 assists per game and he’s had 17 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals in just under 36 minutes over his last two games. With Smith in line to see a lot more playing time, but still priced as an end-of-bench guy, he’s a clear value in all NBA daily Fantasy formats.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bucks wing Khris Middleton at $7,500 on DraftKings and $7,400 on FanDuel. It’s been a tough shooting season for the two-time NBA All-Star, as he’s hitting just 41.2 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from the 3-point line.
But Middleton has shot at least 47 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc in the last two seasons, so there’s reason to be optimistic about positive regression in his game and the Bucks need him to step up on Saturday with Antetokounmpo out. He had 22 points and eight rebounds on Thursday with the two-time MVP out, and he’ll have an opportunity to put up big numbers against the shorthanded Heat.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Saturday, December 4
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Saturday 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.
So who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Saturday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.
