The Celtics will look to pick themselves up, both physically and emotionally, after falling into a 3-1 series hole in the 2025 NBA playoffs and losing Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles’ tendon. No one Celtic in the NBA DFS player pool can replace Tatum, so it will have to come by committee as Boston hosts Jalen Brunson and the Knicks in Game 5 at 7 p.m. ET. Everyone from Derrick White to Al Horford to Payton Pritchard will have increased roles, which daily Fantasy basketball managers should keep in mind when making NBA DFS picks.
Jimmy Butler and the Warriors will also try to stave off elimination without their best player in Steph Curry as Golden State visits Minnesota at 9:30 p.m. ET. If there was ever a time for Playoff Jimmy to emerge, this is it. Should Butler be a part of Wednesday’s NBA DFS strategy? 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 Tuesday, McClure identified Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both sites. The result: GIlgeous-Alexander had 31 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks, returning 55 points on DraftKings and 55.7 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 Wednesday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Wednesday, May 14
For Wednesday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown who is listed at $8,200 on DraftKings and $8,600 on FanDuel. With Tatum out, Brown now becomes Boston’s No. 1 option, and it’s a role he’s comfortable with. When Tatum missed Game 2 of the first-round series versus Orlando, Brown was exceptional with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The point and assist totals are both playoff season-highs for Brown, while the 10 boards is his second-highest of this postseason. That came against Orlando’s No. 1 defense, while the Knicks have the No. 9 scoring defense and 14th-ranked defensive rating.
A return to TD Garden boosts Brown’s value on NBA DFS sites like FanDuel and DraftKings as he’s scored at least 20 points and grabbed at least six rebounds in each of his last four home games versus New York. Brown also had 24-point and 26-point outings in a pair of March contests in which Tatum was sidelined, and one can’t forget the success the latter had prior to getting hurt. Tatum had 42 points in 40 minutes in Game 4, and with Brown now essentially filling his role, Brown is a steal at his listed price tags.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Warriors shooting guard Buddy Hield ($5,100 on both DraftKings and on FanDuel). Hield has been one of the few consistent options for Golden State in its series versus Minnesota as he has at least 13 points in every game. He’s increased his production across the board in the 2025 NBA playoffs, averaging more points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than in the regular season.
Over his last seven games versus the Timberwolves, including the 2024-25 regular season, Hield is averaging 17.4 points. With Curry’s injury, Hield is averaging 32 minutes over the last three games of this series and is essentially a lock to see over 30 minutes again on Wednesday. Across 11 games in the regular season in which he played 30-plus minutes, Hield put up 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals. A bonus for Hield is that the series is shifting back to Minnesota, and the guard has shot much better on the road with a 59% true shooting percentage in away arenas, compared to 53% at home. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Wednesday, May 14
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Wednesday 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 Wednesday? 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.
This news was originally published on this post .
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Minnesota Frost eliminate Toronto Sceptres in Game 4 to advance to PWHL Final
The Minnesota Frost will advance to the PWHL finals after a 4-3 overtime win against the Toronto Sceptres in Game 4 of the semifinals on Wednesday night.Taylor Heise, last year’s playoff MVP, scored the game-winning goal 16 minutes into overtime, and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield led the way with two goals in regulation. THE STATE OF HEISE IS BACK 🤯 Taylor Heise scores the OT game-winner and @PWHL_Minnesota advances to the Finals for the second time! pic.twitter.com/gQCJpuDEio — PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 15, 2025The Frost entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed but – as the reigning champions – were still narrowly favored to win the series against the No. 2 Sceptres, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, with a 21 percent chance at winning in four games.Toronto won the first game of the series on home ice, but Minnesota won […]
Minnesota Frost eliminate Toronto Sceptres in Game 4 to advance to PWHL Final
The Minnesota Frost will advance to the PWHL finals after a 4-3 overtime win against the Toronto Sceptres in Game 4 of the semifinals on Wednesday night.Taylor Heise, last year’s playoff MVP, scored the game-winning goal 16 minutes into overtime, and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield led the way with two goals in regulation. THE STATE OF HEISE IS BACK 🤯 Taylor Heise scores the OT game-winner and @PWHL_Minnesota advances to the Finals for the second time! pic.twitter.com/gQCJpuDEio — PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 15, 2025The Frost entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed but – as the reigning champions – were still narrowly favored to win the series against the No. 2 Sceptres, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, with a 21 percent chance at winning in four games.Toronto won the first game of the series on home ice, but Minnesota won […]
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The Maple Leafs are proving they aren’t so different after all
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Minnesota Frost eliminate Toronto Sceptres in Game 4 to advance to PWHL Final
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Every NFL team’s 2025 regular-season schedule
The NFL unveiled its regular-season schedule on Wednesday, highlighted by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys, on Thursday, Sept. 5.The full slate also features games scheduled around Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with several international matchups, and more.Get ready to plan your fall and winter football weekends with the complete team-by-team schedules below.(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
Every NFL team’s 2025 regular-season schedule
The NFL unveiled its regular-season schedule on Wednesday, highlighted by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys, on Thursday, Sept. 5.The full slate also features games scheduled around Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with several international matchups, and more.Get ready to plan your fall and winter football weekends with the complete team-by-team schedules below.(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
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TORONTO — It was different this year.These weren’t the same Maple Leafs. They played a different style, a playoff style, a Craig Berube style. They were playing the way they needed to play to win in the playoffs. They knew how to win close games. They responded to adversity. They were tough. They were heavy. Their stars had embraced the right mentality to finally win.AdvertisementNot so much. The first two games of their second-round series with the defending champs have proved to be an aberration.Even with a stronger defence and better goaltending, the Leafs are proving they aren’t so different after all. An embarrassing, humbling, shocking Game 5 defeat showed that.All the same problems, the ones that destroyed Leaf team after Leaf team and ultimately ended Sheldon Keefe’s time as head coach, are emerging again at the worst possible time.The […]
The Maple Leafs are proving they aren’t so different after all
TORONTO — It was different this year.These weren’t the same Maple Leafs. They played a different style, a playoff style, a Craig Berube style. They were playing the way they needed to play to win in the playoffs. They knew how to win close games. They responded to adversity. They were tough. They were heavy. Their stars had embraced the right mentality to finally win.AdvertisementNot so much. The first two games of their second-round series with the defending champs have proved to be an aberration.Even with a stronger defence and better goaltending, the Leafs are proving they aren’t so different after all. An embarrassing, humbling, shocking Game 5 defeat showed that.All the same problems, the ones that destroyed Leaf team after Leaf team and ultimately ended Sheldon Keefe’s time as head coach, are emerging again at the worst possible time.The […]
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