NBA DFS: Top Celtics vs. Pacers FanDuel, DraftKings daily Fantasy basketball picks for Thursday, May 23

The 2024 Eastern Conference Finals resume on Thursday with Game 2 at 8 p.m. ET. Game 1 went to overtime, and eight players logging 40-plus minutes is something to keep in mind when constructing your NBA DFS strategy on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. Could there be some fatigue from Pacers likes Pascal Siakam or Tyrese Haliburton , especially after a grueling seven-game series versus the Knicks ? For Boston, should you bypass vets like Al Horford and Jrue Holiday , with just one day of rest, when making NBA DFS picks.

Horford logged a season-high 40 minutes in Game 1, and the 37-year-old has struggled to produce for NBA DFS lineups after a heavy workload. He played 35-plus minutes nine times in the regular season and averaged just 7.8 points in his next outings afterwards. Thus, it could be beneficial to both utilize Pacers center Myles Turner , as well as backup Celtics big Luke Kornet , in your daily Fantasy basketball lineups. Before making your NBA DFS picks for Pacers vs. Celtics, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine's Jimmie Kaylor .

Kaylor is a DFS and betting expert for SportsLine, who won a DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest in 2022. He uses a combination of his background as a former college and professional athlete and his keen eye for statistical trends when making his picks and locking in his DFS lineups. Kaylor enters the 2024 calendar year with multiple five-figure tournament cashes on his DFS resume.

Kaylor's approach allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he only shares on SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

On Wednesday, Kaylor highlighted Mavericks guard Luka Doncic as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Doncic had 33 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block, returning 60 points on DraftKings and 60.2 points on FanDuel as the top scorer from the NBA DFS player pool. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

Kaylor has turned his attention to NBA action on Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, May 23

For Thursday, one of Kaylor's top NBA DFS picks is Celtics forward Jaylen Brown . It was Brown's clutch 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation that knotted Game 1 up, sent it into overtime, and allowed Boston to escape with a win. But that was just three of his 26 points for the night, and Brown also filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. The assists, steals and blocks totals all either set or tied postseason-highs for Brown in the 2024 NBA playoffs.

Brown has picked apart the Pacers defense all season, so one should expect more stat lines like what we saw on Tuesday. Brown has scored at least 25 points in each of his last five games versus Indiana, averaging 30.4 points over this stretch. The Pacers have the No. 27 scoring defense, and Brown has exploited it both in the regular and the postseason. He dropped 40 points on Indiana in a January game, which is one off his high for the 2023-24 season.

Another part of Kaylor's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Pacers forward Siakam. The two-time All-Star is coming off a complete stat line on Tuesday with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. The assists total is a 2024 postseason-high for Siakam, while the rebounds is one shy of tying his playoff-high this year. Siakam has now scored at least 20 points in each of his last four games.

Siakam is certainly taking advantage of Boston being without Kristaps Porzingis (calf) as he's now played two games versus the Celtics without the Latvian, versus four games this season against Boston with Porzingis. His averages are higher across the board sans Porzingis, averaging 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and six assists in those contests. Additionally, the Celtics allowed journeyman Marcus Morris to go off for 25 points in their prior game against Cleveland, so defending power forwards seems to be an issue for Boston at the moment. See Kaylor's other NBA DFS picks right here .

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, May 23

Kaylor 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, and get the rest of Kaylor's picks, here .

Who is DFS pro Jimmie Kaylor putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has a Millionaire Maker win on his resume , and find out.