Clutch time is defined by the NBA as periods in games when the score is within five points, in overtime, or in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. Unsurprisingly, no player between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors has been better in such moments than Stephen Curry this postseason. The 2022 NBA Finals appear to be closely matched, so how much can players that perform well in clutch scenarios benefit your NBA DFS lineups?
After Curry, it’s actually Golden State’s Jordan Poole that has the next-best numbers during clutch time between the two teams. Even though it represents just a snapshot of time in games, it speaks to Poole’s willingness and capability to score in big moments. He’s made 100 percent of his attempts during clutch time this postseason, but does that make Poole a top option to consider in the NBA DFS player pool? Before you make your NBA DFS picks for Warriors vs. Celtics Game 1, 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 Sunday, McClure listed Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Tatum scored 26 points to go with 10 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks to return 56 points on DraftKings and 54 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 Celtics vs. Warriors Game 1 and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, June 2
For Game 1, Tatum is in McClure’s top NBA DFS picks once again. Tatum finished as the top scorer for Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami at 25 points per game. He also finished with the most assists in the series for the Celtics and averaged 5.6 per game. He was able to boost his offensive output by frequently getting to the free throw line, where he took the most attempts on the team by a wide margin and hit 86 percent of them.
In two games against the Warriors this season, Tatum finished with 53 total points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. In those games, he also had a true shooting percentage of 61.7, which was his 10th-best among all opponents Boston played against during the regular season. Tatum finished with the highest offensive usage rate among all starters in the Conference Finals, and he should remain the top player for Boston on Thursday night.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Tatum with big man Al Horford. In the conference finals, Horford averaged 9.8 points, 10 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Although he finished with just five points in Game 7, he came away with 14 rebounds and two blocks. In eight road playoff games this season, Horford has averaged 12.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Horford is making the first NBA Finals appearance of his 14-year career but has now played in four conference finals. He missed Game 1 of the East Finals this year due to health and safety protocols, but he averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the first games of the previous three series. In nine of his 17 playoff games this year, Horford has finished with double-digit rebound totals, and he’s finished with at least two blocks eight times.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, June 2
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.
