After no NBA teams played yesterday to give all the attention to the NCAA Championship Game, Tuesday marks the final stretch of the last six days of the regular season. With 14 games on Tuesday's NBA schedule, the NBA DFS player pool is filled with elite options, and the fact that no teams are playing in the second half of a back-to-back increases the likelihood of stars seeing the floor. Several teams are playing for seeding or their playoff lives, and those are valuable things to know when forming an NBA DFS strategy on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.
The Lakers and Warriors go head-to-head on Tuesday, and both teams have a spot secured at least in the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Lakers are 1.5 games out of the six seed for the final spot to avoid the play-in tournament. LeBron James (illness) and Anthony Davis (eye) are both questionable, so you'll want to monitor their game status when forming an NBA DFS strategy for Tuesday. Before making your 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 and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
On Thursday (when McClure last made picks), McClure highlighted Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Brunson had 35 points, two rebounds, 11 assists and three steals, returning 61 points on DraftKings and 59.9 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 Tuesday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Tuesday, April 9
For Tuesday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is rostering Raptors forward RJ Barrett, who is listed at $7,700 on DraftKings and $8,000 on FanDuel. Barrett is averaging 25.3 points, seven rebounds and five assists over three games since returning from missing three weeks. He's been an offensive leader for Toronto since his midseason acquisition from New York, but he's elevated his performance since returning. Barrett is averaging 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 30 games in Toronto since being traded, and those would all be season-long career highs for Barrett.
Barrett is in his fifth NBA season after being selected No. 3 overall in 2019 by the Knicks. The Toronto native is back home playing with the Raptors, and that additional motivation has shown itself through his play. The Raptors enter on a two-game winning streak as they are 2-1 and averaging 119.3 points over Barrett's three games since his return. Toronto will be without Immanuel Quickley (rest), so they'll rely on Barrett even more against the Pacers, who allow the fourth-most points per game (120.2).
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Grizzlies point guard Zavier Simpson ($4,100 on DraftKings and $3,900 on FanDuel). Simpson signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on March 30 after playing in the G League. They signed Simpson to a second 10-day contract on Tuesday after the 27-year-old averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists over his first three games.
Simpson saw significant playing time on Saturday and had 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks over 30 minutes in a defeat to the 76ers. In a lost season for the Grizzlies that's been riddled with injuries and suspensions to key players, Simpson has the chance to provide NBA film for next season. He averaged 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists with the Thunder at the end of the 2021-22 season in a similar situation. Memphis lists 11 players as out for Tuesday and another two as doubtful, so with a shorthanded roster, Simpson should see lots of court time and outproduce his cheap NBA DFS price tags. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Tuesday, April 9
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Tuesday 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 Tuesday? 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.
