This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a big 11-game slate Wednesday, we're back down to a two-game ledger Thursday consisting of In-Season Tournament Semifinal clashes. We have a light injury report as well, particularly important when working with a modest four-team player pool.
Slate Overview
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We have narrow spreads for both games as of early Thursday on FanDuel Sportsbook, with the Bucks only 4.5-point favorites over the Pacers and the Lakers sporting a modest 1.5-point projected advantage over the visiting Pelicans.
The one prior game between Indiana and Milwaukee finished with 250 total points and a two-point Pacers win, while the second game of the night marks the first meeting between the Pelicans and Lakers.
The Pacers-Bucks game has a bloated total of 254.5 points, right in line with many of Indiana's games this season. Pels-Lakers sports a much more subdued but still solid 229-point figure.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
LeBron James, LAL (calf): QUESTIONABLE
James should suit up as usual, but in the highly unlikely event he doesn't, Taurean Prince would be in for a start at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Anthony Davis, LAL (hip): PROBABLE
Jarred Vanderbilt, LAL (heel): PROBABLE
Pat Connaughton, MIL (ankle): OUT
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,100), Tyrese Haliburton ($11,600), Anthony Davis ($11,200) and LeBron James ($10,600).
Antetokounmpo has put up 60.5 FD points or more in five straight games coming into Thursday and also racked up 64.9 against the Pacers over 36 minutes in the first meeting between the teams this season.
Haliburton has eclipsed 60 FD points in three of the last five games, including one tally over 70. He put up 52.2 over 38 minutes in his one previous meeting against the Bucks, and Milwaukee is allowing 48.1 percent shooting to point guards.
Davis is fully expected to play through his hip injury as usual and will look to build on a streak of four games with at least 52.5 FD points.
Assuming James plays through his questionable tag, he'll look to build on the 70.1 FD points he scored against the Suns in Tuesday's quarterfinal-round game, a performance that caused his salary to jump by several hundred dollars.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Damian Lillard, MIL ($9,200)
Lillard has scored 43.5 to 52.2 FD points in seven straight games and the Pacers are giving up 48.0 percent shooting, including 38.3 percent from distance, to point guards.
Brandon Ingram, NOP ($8,400)
Ingram bounced back from three straight sub-36 FD-point performances to post 46.2 and 49.6 FD points in his last two games, which should keep him very popular on the small slate at his salary.
Zion Williamson, NOP ($8,300)
Williamson has had three straight down games (29.3 to 35.5 FD points) by his standards, but his ceiling should help keep him in plenty of lineups Thursday.
CJ McCollum, NOP ($8,200)
McCollum has scored 39.3 to 42.6 FD points in the three games he's played since returning from a collapsed lung, and he's dispelled any concerns about conditioning by already playing as much as 38 minutes in one of those contests.
Key Values
Bruce Brown, IND at MIL ($6,300)
Brown's production has seen some fluctuation early in his Pacers tenure, but he's posted 36.8 and 34.6 FD points in his last two contests. He's eclipsed 30 FD points in five games overall thus far, and he checks in shooting a crisp 50.0 percent over his last nine contests. Brown also posted a season-high 39.3 FD points across 38 minutes against the Bucks in the first meeting between the teams, and Milwaukee is allowing 40.7 FD points per game to small forwards, along with 37.3 percent shooting from three-point range to the position.
Herbert Jones, NOP at LAL ($6,000)
Jones always carries a bit of risk due to his modest offensive role, but he's encouragingly scored 32.8 to 41.5 FD points in his last three games while putting up 10.7 shot attempts per contest. Jones is draining those shots at a blistering 56.3 percent, including 46.2 percent from behind the arc, and he's also done a good job supplementing his production with four blocks in that sample. The Lakers rank in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency rating allowed to small forwards (23.1), and given Jones' defensive prowess, it's worth noting Los Angeles is also surrendering the fifth-most steals (8.5) on the season and the fifth-most blocks per contest in the last three (6.0).
Austin Reaves, LAL vs. NOP ($5,900)
Reaves is another value play that does have some volatility to his production, but the third-year wing has scored 27.2 FD points or more in 14 of his 22 games, which gives him more than enough upside for tournaments in particular. Reaves isn't quite as efficient as last season to this point, but he is shooting 50.0 percent over his last nine contests. The Pelicans could facilitate one of his stronger performances, considering they're allowing the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players (46.5) and seventh highest to two-guards (25.0). New Orleans is also yielding the fourth-most FD points per game to twos (46.0), adding to Reaves' appeal.
ALSO CONSIDER: Trey Murphy, NOP at LAL ($5,500); Bobby Portis, MIL vs. IND ($5,400)
