When the Denver Nuggets traded for Aaron Gordon last season, many expected the move to swing the balance of power in the Western Conference. After a number of significant injuries to several key players since then, it’s difficult to say what Gordon’s impact could be in a completely healthy Denver offense. Gordon’s production has been up as of late, and he is coming off of a 30-point, 12 rebound performance against the Clippers on Tuesday. But is he a strong option to include in NBA DFS lineups on Thursday?
Denver hosts a shorthanded Portland team on Thursday night, and in two previous games against the Blazers, Gordon put up identical 11-point, three-rebound stat lines in each meeting. Since missing three games with a minor hamstring injury, Gordon has made six starts, and has averaged 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. With just five games on Thursday’s NBA slate, is Gordon an attractive addition from the NBA DFS player pool? Before finalizing 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 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 Wednesday, McClure included Spurs guard Dejounte Murray as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Murray logged his seventh triple-double of the season, and finished with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to return 73.5 points on DraftKings and 69.5 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 Thursday, January 13 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 Thursday, January 13
One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Thursday is Nets superstar James Harden at $10,700 on DraftKings and $10,000 on FanDuel. Harden sandwiched a night off against Portland (knee hyperextension) between a 26-point, 12-assist outing against San Antonio on Sunday and a 25-point, 16-assist performance against Chicago on Wednesday. Those two games appeared to mark the end of a mini-slump Harden was in last week, when he averaged 17.7 points, seven rebounds and six assists over three games.
The Nets host Oklahoma City on Thursday night, and Harden should be looking for a better performance than he had in Brooklyn’s last meeting with the Thunder on November 14. He only hit 38.5 percent of his shots and scored 16 points, but he did have 13 assists and three steals in a 120-96 win. In OKC’s last game against Washington, they allowed point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to go off and score 22 points with 10 assists in a 122-118 Wizards victory.
Another key in McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Portland forward Nassir Little ($5,600 on DraftKings and $5,300 on FanDuel). Little has been a regular starter for the Trail Blazers since December 8, and has seen his production fluctuate since then. He has been more consistent over his last five games, where he has averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Much of Portland’s usual starting lineup isn’t available tonight against Denver, so Little should see a bigger role. In two previous meetings with the Nuggets this season, Little averaged 13 points and six rebounds in just over 26 minutes played per game. Denver has typically been a difficult defensive side, but with Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic likely locked up against Nikola Jokic, the Portland offense has to funnel somewhere, and Little appears to be the most likely option.
How to set NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, January 13
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday 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 Thursday? 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.
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