NBA DFS: Kevin Durant and top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Dec. 12, 2021

Perhaps it’s an overstatement to say that LaMarcus Aldridge is in the midst of a career resurgence with the Brooklyn Nets. But the 36-year-old, 15-year veteran offers plenty of value in the NBA DFS player pool on Sunday. James Harden will miss his first game of the season on a rest day against the Detroit Pistons, meaning there will be extra offensive opportunities available for others, and Aldridge is a prime candidate to benefit. In two previous games against Detroit this season, Aldridge has hit 76.5 percent of his shots from the field and averaged 16 points per game in just over 20 minutes per contest.

The Pistons have allowed an average of 52 points in the paint over their last three games, and over his last 10 outings, Aldridge has averaged 16.6 points and 13.3 attempts from the field. In his first 14 games this season, he was taking just 8.5 attempts and scoring 12 points per contest. Is Aldridge a strong option to include in your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday? Before you finalize 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 nearly $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 Saturday, McClure had Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in his core NBA DFS picks on FanDuel and DraftKings. The result: Jokic had 35 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks, returning 75.25 points on DraftKings and nearly 71.4 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included them in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

Now, McClure has turned his attention to the Sunday, December 12 NBA DFS slate and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, December 12

One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Sunday is Nets superstar Kevin Durant at $11,000 on DraftKings and $10,800 on FanDuel. Durant is likely to see the biggest increase in offensive production in the absence of Harden. He was given a rest day on December 8 against Houston, and came back against Atlanta with 31 points; his most since his 39-point performance against Phoenix on November 27.

In Durant’s last game against Detroit, he dropped 29 points and came away with 10 rebounds in a November 5 win. Over his last five games overall, he’s averaged 28 points with 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Durant’s three-point shooting has been down as of late, but the Pistons have allowed opponents to hit 38 percent of their three-point attempts this season, which is the second-highest rate in the league.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis at $8,000 on DraftKings and $8,500 on FanDuel. Porzingis missed two games in early December with a knee contusion but has improved his performance in all three of the games he’s played since returning to the lineup. On Friday, he scored 22 points against the Pacers and shot 52 percent from the field.

Dallas plays at Oklahoma City on Sunday evening in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Even though Porzingis missed a significant amount of time last year, he still played the Thunder twice, and averaged 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in those games. In his last start against OKC on March 29, he scored 20 points to go with nine rebounds and two blocks in a Mavs win.

How to set NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, December 12

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

So who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Sunday? 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.