NBA DFS: DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Thursday, Jan. 11 include Jalen Brunson

We’re approaching the halfway point of the 2023-24 NBA season, and there’s a four-game slate on tap for Thursday night. Tonight’s NBA schedule will be highlighted by a marquee matchup in the Eastern Conference between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. The two teams are currently No. 1 and No. 2 in the East, respectively, and their star-studded lineups are sure to be a heavy focus in the NBA DFS player pool on Thursday.

Every single starter in the Boston lineup is currently priced at $7,000 or more on both FanDuel and DraftKings, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton are also sure to be popular but expensive options for NBA DFS lineups. So which of those players should you have exposure to, and who else around the league should you be targeting as you play NBA DFS tournaments, cash games and 50-50s? 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 Mike McClure.

McClure is a DFS professional with more than $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 Tuesday (when he last published picks), McClure highlighted Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Bane had 32 points, nine rebounds and four assists, returning 49.25 points on DraftKings and 46.8 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

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, January 11

For Thursday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving, who is listed at $9,000 on DraftKings and $9,700 on FanDuel. Now in his 13th NBA season, Irving is an eight-time All-Star, and he enters Thursday’s action averaging 23.9 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per night.

However, he’s sure to take on an even larger role in the Dallas offense with Luka Doncic battling an ankle injury and already ruled out for Thursday’s matchup with the Knicks. In six career games with the Mavericks where Doncic did not play, Irving is averaging 24.8 points, 5.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson ($8,700 on DraftKings and $9,000 on FanDuel). Brunson is averaging 25.6 points, 6.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season, all career highs, and he’s averaging 24.2 points and 8.8 assists since the start of the new year.

This will be Brunson’s first start at Dallas since signing with the Knicks two offseasons ago. He spent his first four seasons with the Mavericks, and the franchise had Bird Rights to offer him an extra year on his contract, but the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement and Brunson left in free agency. That should provide a little extra motivation for Brunson, and Dallas’ defense just allowed PG Marcus Smart to score 23 points in 21 minutes on Tuesday. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, January 11

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.