NBA DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for February 2 include DeMar DeRozan

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon has played well this season, and over his last 10 games, he’s put up 17.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and hit 46.2% of his 3-point attempts. However, his availability for Thursday’s NBA DFS player pool and for tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors could be up in the air, after he ended Tuesday’s game against New Orleans with a sprained left ankle. Gordon only scored 10 points in his last start against the Warriors, so would one of his potential replacements be better suited for your NBA DFS lineups?

Bruce Brown hasn’t started in the last two games for Denver, but he was in the starting lineup and scored 20 points when Denver played the Warriors earlier this season. Golden State could be resting a few of their starters on Thursday with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green questionable, which might lead to Denver resting Gordon and upping Brown’s value in the NBA DFS player pool. Before you make your NBA DFS picks for Thursday, 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 Wednesday, he highlighted Kings center Domantas Sabonis as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Sabonis scored 34 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks to return 62.25 points on DraftKings and 62.2 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 Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, February 2

One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Thursday is Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, who is listed at $8,700 on DraftKings and $8,500 on FanDuel. DeRozan scored 20 points and picked out five assists in his last start on Tuesday against the Clippers. Since missing three games with a quad injury, DeRozan has averaged 27.5 points, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and hit 54.4% of his shots over six games.

The Bulls are back in action on Thursday at home against the Charlotte Hornets, who allow the third-most points per game in the NBA. DeRozan hasn’t been his sharpest this season against Charlotte and has only hit 34.4% of his shots against it in two previous starts, but he held a usage rate of 30.5%. That has helped him maintain a high average floor of 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in those games.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Warriors guard Ty Jerome ($3,000 on DraftKings, $3,700 on FanDuel). Jerome has been inactive for the team’s last four games but could present a major return on investment on Thursday. With Curry and Green both game-time decisions, and Klay Thompson (injury management) already ruled out, Jerome stands to be the beneficiary against the Nuggets on Thursday.

In his last start on January 20 against Cleveland, Jerome played 41 minutes, scored 22 points and picked out eight assists. Jerome’s usage has fluctuated wildly this season, but in road appearances, his shooting percentage (54.2%) has been nearly nine points higher than at home (45.7%). He’s also hit 48.3% of his threes in road games and has averaged twice as many assists (3.3) per game than at the Chase Center.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, February 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.

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 over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.