Heat star Jimmy Butler will try to maintain his excellent postseason form when he faces the Nuggets in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals on Thursday night. Butler is averaging 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists during the playoffs, helping his team become the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals. He was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP after leading Miami in every statistical category besides rebounding, and he was a key player in winning NBA DFS lineups. However, Butler shot just 42% from the floor in those seven games against the Celtics, needing volume to deliver big numbers. 

Denver has star power of its own in the form of two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is averaging a triple-double in the playoffs. Should you include him in your NBA DFS strategy for Game 1 of Heat vs. Nuggets? Before making your NBA DFS picks for Thursday, 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.

On Monday, McClure highlighted Heat small forward Jimmy Butler in his NBA DFS player pool. The result: Butler had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals to return 52.75 points on DraftKings and 53.4 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 Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Game 1 of Heat vs. Nuggets

One part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. The two-time MVP has somehow found a way to improve on his regular season numbers, averaging a triple-double in the playoffs. He is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game, playing nearly 40 minutes per contest. 

Denver is not going to put its superstar on the bench for much of Thursday’s game, and that volume is almost guaranteed to result in Jokic filling up the stat sheet. He closed the Western Conference finals with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists across 45 minutes in Game 4 against the Lakers, posting his fifth triple-double in six games. The 28-year-old is simply too big of a weapon to exclude from NBA DFS lineups on Thursday. 

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Jokic with point guard Jamal Murray. While Jokic is the superstar on the roster, Murray has stepped up in the playoffs after averaging 20 points per game in the regular season. He is averaging 27.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in the postseason, playing a team-high 39.1 minutes per contest. 

Murray had a trio of 30-point games during the Western Conference finals, not shying away from the big stage. He scored 15 points in the first half of Denver’s closeout game last Monday, finishing with 25 points despite going 0-for-4 from 3-point range. Murray has the advantage of facing a fatigued Miami defense on Thursday, while he has been resting for more than a week. See the rest of McClure’s NBA DFS picks here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, June 1

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 Game 1 of Heat vs. Nuggets? 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.