NBA DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for January 2 include Kyrie Irving

Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets are on an NBA-best 11-game winning streak that they’ll look to continue at home on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs. Fourth-year center Nicolas Claxton has been an effective big man all season but especially over his last five games. During that run, he has averaged 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made an incredible 3.2 blocks per game, so should you lock him into your NBA DFS lineups on Monday?

While Claxton has been good, two other centers could be worth considering in the NBA DFS player pool, including San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl, who has 28 total points, 27 rebounds and eight assists over his last two starts. Elsewhere, Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic could see an uptick in usage against Cleveland, who has allowed opposing centers to take a league-high 10.5 shot attempts per game within five feet of the basket. 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 Sunday, he highlighted Kings center Domantas Sabonis in his top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Sabonis scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and made four assists to return 45 points on DraftKings and 43.8 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, January 2

One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Monday is Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who is listed at $8,700 on DraftKings and $8,800 on FanDuel. Irving has scored 28 points in each of his last two games, and in his last start on Saturday against Charlotte, he added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Since taking a night off to rest a sore calf against the Warriors on December 21, Irving has averaged 26.5 points with six rebounds and 5.8 assists over four starts.

Irving only played in one game against San Antonio last season, but he scored 24 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. This season, the Spurs have been a bottom-three Fantasy defense against opposing point guards after they’ve allowed an average of 9.2 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 made 3-pointers per game to the position. Over his last four starts, Irving has made 16-of-38 3-point attempts. 

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Warriors guard Jordan Poole ($8,200 on DraftKings and $8,100 on FanDuel). Poole finished with his second-highest point total this season in his last start on Friday, when he scored 41 points against the Trail Blazers. Over his last seven starts, he has averaged 29.3 points and 3.4 assists.

The Warriors host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, who have lost their last three games. In two games against the Hawks last season, Poole scored 40 total points with 14 assists and eight rebounds. Poole broke out of a slump beyond the 3-point line against Portland with a 5-for-10 night from downtown, and Atlanta has allowed opponents to hit 36.8% of their threes this year when it has been the visiting team.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Monday, January 2

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.