NBA DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for opening night on October 18, 2022

The Golden State Warriors begin their defense of their fourth NBA title on Tuesday under head coach Steve Kerr on the heels of several big transactions. Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole each received big multi-year extensions to stay in the bay area, while Draymond Green gave some money back to the team after he was fined for punching Poole in a preseason altercation. Green ultimately wasn’t suspended, and the whole roster is expected to be available on opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. ET, but which players from either team should you consider for NBA DFS lineups?

The two teams started the season against each other last year, and Poole finished just one point shy of Stephen Curry’s team-high 21 points in a 121-114 Warriors win. The appeal to Green in the NBA DFS player pool is what he does outside of scoring, and he finished with eight rebounds, six assists and a steal almost a year ago to the day. Before you make your NBA DFS picks for opening night on Tuesday, which features Warriors vs. Lakers and Celtics vs. 76ers, 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.

He finished last season highlighting Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The result: Wiggins scored 18 points and finished with six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks to return 47.5 points on DraftKings and 50.7 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 opening night 2022 and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Tuesday, October 18

For Tuesday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Lakers superstar LeBron James, who is listed at $9,200 on DraftKings and $10,800 on FanDuel. In last year’s season-opener between the two teams, James finished with a game-high 34 points, as well as 11 rebounds and five assists. Overall, he averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season.

In his career against the Warriors, James has averaged 27.6 points and shot 50.1% from the field. In three games against Golden State last season, he scored 38.7 points per game and finished with 36 total rebounds. In those matchups, he also hit 43.8% of his 3-point attempts.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking James with Los Angeles F/C Anthony Davis ($8,500 on DraftKings and $10,100 on FanDuel). Davis missed more than half of the regular season last year, but will be fresh and ready to start his 11th season on Tuesday. Last year, he averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

Davis finished just one point behind James as the second-highest scoring player from last year’s initial meeting with Golden State to finish with a stat line of 33 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. In two meetings against the Warriors during the regular season, Davis shot 51.3% from the field and made it to the line to shoot 17 free throws — his second most against any team last season.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Tuesday, October 18

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Tuesday 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 Tuesday? 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.