Following the NBA action on Christmas is a tall order, but there are several top matchups on Monday that feature players worthy of dropping into your NBA DFS lineups. Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets open the day’s schedule against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Elsewhere, two teams on the play-in bubble, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat, face off in South Florida.
Jimmy Butler has been in and out of the lineup for the Heat over the last nine games after making his return to action from a knee injury. He should be available in the NBA DFS player pool on Monday, after having two days off since his 20-point, six-rebound performance last Friday against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. Before you make your NBA DFS picks for Monday, 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 Christmas, he highlighted Mavericks guard Luka Doncic as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Doncic scored 32 points to go with nine assists and nine rebounds to return 60.25 points on DraftKings and 59.3 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 Monday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Monday, December 26
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks on Monday is Hornets guard LaMelo Ball who is listed at $10,200 on DraftKings and $8,900 on FanDuel. Ball scored 23 points, picked out eight assists and snagged eight rebounds in Charlotte’s four-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Since coming back from an ankle injury on December 14, Ball has averaged 25.3 points, 8.5 assists, 5.3 rebounds and has hit 41.4% of his 3-point attempts.
On Monday, Charlotte plays at Portland, and the Trail Blazers have allowed opponents to hit 38.2% of their 3-pointers over their last three games. In their last outing on Friday against Denver, the Nuggets hit 47.6% of their threes in a 120-107 win. Ball missed the first meeting against Portland earlier this season, but last year, he hit seven of 14 total 3-pointers in two games against the Blazers.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan ($8,400 on DraftKings and $8,500 on FanDuel). DeRozan scored 25 points to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds in his most recent start last Friday against the Knicks. Over his last 10 games, he has averaged 25.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and has shot 49.5% from the field.
On Monday the Bulls host the Houston Rockets, and though Houston has done a decent job of limiting opponents’ success with mid-range shots — where DeRozan takes the majority of his attempts — they allow the third-highest shooting percentage in the league at the basket. DeRozan has taken 18% of his shots at the rim and has made 69.5% of them this season. Monday will be the first game between Chicago and Houston this year, but in two games last season, DeRozan averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 assists and four rebounds against the Rockets.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Monday, December 26
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.