NBA DFS: DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Friday, May 9 include Donovan Mitchell

After just one NBA game on Thursday, we’re back to two games on Friday, providing more of a robust NBA DFS player pool. The injury-depleted Cavs, behind Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen will look to climb out of an 0-2 hole against Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Indiana at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then, the expected top-two finishers in MVP voting, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, will square off in Game 3 of their series at 10 p.m. ET. NBA DFS picks of this caliber will set back your daily Fantasy basketball salary cap, so completing your NBA DFS lineups with bargains will be mandatory.

Role players tend to perform better at home, which makes the likes of Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and Aaron Gordon. The hero in Denver’s Game 1 win over OKC, Gordon is averaging 21 points this postseason at home, compared to 16 points on the road. He could be a steal within your NBA daily Fantasy strategy and could greatly outperform his price tag on NBA DFS sites. Before making any 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 on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

On Wednesday (when he last made picks), McClure identified Thunder guard Gilgeous-Alexander as one of his core NBA DFS picks on both sites. The result: Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points, eight assists and four rebounds, returning 50.5 points on DraftKings and 48.8 points on FanDuel to provide strong value for NBA DFS lineups. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day.

McClure 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 9

For Friday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Cavaliers shooting guard Mitchell, who is listed at $9,500 on DraftKings and $9,600 on FanDuel. Despite falling into an 0-2 hole, Mitchell is coming off one of the best games of his postseason career, which is saying a lot, considering his 28.2 points average is the seventh-best in NBA playoff history. Mitchell posted 48 points on Tuesday, to go along with nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. The point total and assist total were the fourth-highest of Mitchell’s postseason career, while he tied a playoff-high in steals.

While Cleveland may get back some key players for Game 3, don’t expect Mitchell to take his foot off the pedal, considering the dire straights the Cavs are facing. He had 35 points and nine assists in his lone regular-season game at Indiana, but also had 38 points and nine rebounds when he last played at Indiana prior to that. Mitchell has a knack for shining when coming off a loss as over his last three games this season, including the playoffs, following a defeat, he either had a 30-plus point game or a double-double in all three.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray ($6,800 on DraftKings and $7,600 on FanDuel). Murray will relish returning home for Game 3 as he’s averaging 25.8 points at Ball Arena during the 2025 NBA playoffs, compared to 18.4 points on the road. He’s clearly someone who feels more comfortable with the rims in Denver as Murray had a 61% true shooting percentage at home in the regular season, as opposed to a 57% mark in away arenas.

While Murray had just a 14-point outing in Game 2, he filled up the stat sheet in the series opener with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal. He’s proven an ability to find ways to score against Oklahoma City’s No. 1 defense as Murray dropped 34 points on OKC when he last saw it in the regular season. Coming off a 43-point embarrassing defeat in Game 2, the Nuggets best players will want to show that the performance wasn’t a true representation of them, so look for Murray to be aggressive early and often. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, May 9

McClure 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 here.

Who is DFS pro Mike McClure 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 over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.