The Friday NBA playoff schedule features two Game 6s with the home teams looking to accomplish different goals. The Orlando Magic are in survival mode as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Dallas Mavericks look to advance to the next round of the 2024 NBA playoffs with a home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA DFS player pool is filled with top options such as Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Paul George, Donovan Mitchell and Paolo Banchero, so who should daily Fantasy basketball players include in NBA DFS lineups?
Kawhi Leonard (knee) remains out for the Clippers, and Jarrett Allen (ribs) is questionable for Cleveland, so how should those injuries affect your NBA DFS strategy? Allen missed Game 5, which the Cavs won, but will they be able to win in Orlando if Allen is out? The home team has won all five games in this series, so should you stack Magic options in NBA DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? 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 Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a DFS and betting expert for SportsLine, who won a DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest in 2022. He uses a combination of his background as a former college and professional athlete and his keen eye for statistical trends when making his picks and locking in his DFS lineups. Kaylor enters the 2024 calendar year with multiple five-figure tournament cashes on his DFS resume.
Kaylor's approach allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he only shares on SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
On Friday (when Kaylor last made picks), Kaylor highlighted Pacers center Myles Turner as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Turner had 29 points and nine rebounds, returning 45.75 points on DraftKings and 44.3 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Kaylor has turned his attention to NBA action on Friday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Friday, May 3
For Friday, one of Kaylor's top NBA DFS picks is Clippers guard/forward George ($8,600 on both DraftKings and FanDuel). Even in a poor shooting performance in Game 5 (going 4 of 13 from the field for 15 points), George contributed to NBA DFS lineups in other ways with 11 rebounds and four assists. George only played 33 minutes in Game 5 as the Mavericks cruised to a 30-point victory, but that means the 34-year-old should have additional rest heading into a win-or-go-home Game 6.
George had 33 points, six rebounds and eight assists in a 116-111 victory in Game 4 the last time the Clippers played in Dallas. He shot 7 of 10 on 3-pointers over his 43 minutes, and with Leonard still out, George will likely be asked to play nearly every minute yet again. George averaged 26 points, 10.3 rebounds and six assists in four win-or-go-home games in the 2021 playoffs while playing at least 40 minutes in each contest as the nine-time All-Star is no stranger to performing in pressure-filled moments.
Another part of Kaylor's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Cavaliers power forward/center Evan Mobley ($7,300 on DraftKings and $8,000 on FanDuel). Mobley had 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in Game 5 while needing to take on a larger role with Allen out. Allen (ribs) is questionable for Friday, and if he can't play, Mobley will likely be relied upon in similar ways. Mobley played 39 minutes in Game 5 compared to averaging 30.5 minutes over the first four games of the series.
Mobley is averaging 14.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this series and averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks during the regular season. Outside of a Game 3 blowout victory for the Magic in which Cleveland played Allen and Mobley limited minutes, at least one of the two has posted at least nine rebounds in each of the other four games in this series. Mobley is a rebounding force with or without Allen on the court, but if the latter is out again, Mobley's 8.4 rebounding average for the series could easily look more like the 13 boards from Game 5. Mobley is a prime candidate to outperform his price tag for Friday NBA DFS lineups. See Kaylor's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, May 3
Kaylor is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday 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, and get the rest of Kaylor's picks, here.
Who is DFS pro Jimmie Kaylor putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has a Millionaire Maker win on his resume, and find out.
