This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We've got a four-game main slate on tap Thursday night, and despite the modest size, it's loaded with star power. No less than the likes of Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, among others, are slated to take the floor, which will make for a night of strategy-heavy roster given the number of players with elevated salaries in play.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over/unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Three of the four games carry point spreads of 4.5 points or less on FanDuel Sportsbook as of Thursday morning, certainly an encouraging sign. The one outlier is the Trail Blazers-Thunder clash, which has a line of 13.5 points despite the fact OKC is on the second night of a back-to-back set.
Projected totals also bring some good news, as all four games carry figures of 233.5 points or higher, topping out with the Celtics-Bucks at 242.5 points.
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 (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If James sits out, Anthony Davis (Probable-ankle) will be in line for an even bigger workload while Jarred Vanderbilt could be due for a start at power forward.
Luka Doncic, DAL (ankle): OUT
With Doncic out, Kyrie Irving should be in line to handle an even heavier workload than usual, while the likes of Tim Hardaway and Derrick Jones could also be primary beneficiaries.
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS (knee): GTD
If Porzingis misses a second straight game, Al Horford should remain in the starting five.
Deandre Ayton, POR (knee): DOUBTFUL
In Ayton's likely absence, Duop Reath is likely to draw another start at center.
Other notable injuries:
Dereck Lively, DAL (ankle): DOUBTFUL
Dante Exum, DAL (heel): OUT
Anthony Davis, LAL (ankle): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have six players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,300), Anthony Davis ($11,400), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,300), Jayson Tatum ($10,400), Kyrie Irving ($10,100) and LeBron James ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo just saw a seven-game streak of games with 60 FD points or more snapped against the Jazz on Monday night (49.8), but he naturally has the ability to get right back to that range against the Celtics.
Davis could potentially take the floor without LeBron James and boasts tallies of 81.4, 77.4 and 63.2 FD points in three of the last six games.
SGA has been at Wednesday's 45.4 FD points or more in five straight games, but he'll be on his third game in four nights Thursday.
Tatum led the Celtics to the OT win over the T-Wolves on Wednesday night with 45 points (54.8 FD points), but his 42-minute workload in the contest could have some carryover.
Irving has back-to-back 60 FD-point tallies and has been at 52.3 or more in four straight. He'll also be taking the floor without Luka Doncic on Thursday, a scenario where he's averaging 50.4 FD points per 36 minutes.
If LeBron plays through his ankle issue, he'll be looking to extend a three-game streak where he's scored 44.1 to 59.5 FD points.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Kevin Durant, PHO ($9,800)
Durant has scored 44.5 and 41.4 FD points in his first two games back from a three-game absence and has the upside of most of the five-figure-salary players on the slate, which should keep him very popular.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,600)
Booker hasn't put up any truly eye-popping numbers of late, but he's typically sporting a 40-FD-point floor and should therefore be in plenty of lineups.
Julius Randle, NYK ($8,900)
Randle faces a short-handed Mavericks squad and has a pair of 50+ FD-point tallies in his last four games, giving him plenty of appeal at his salary.
Chet Holmgren, OKC ($8,500)
Holmgren has scored 49.3 and 43.8 FD points in his last two games, very strong returns on his current salary.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($8,400)
Brown is on the second night of a back-to-back set but checks in off two spike performances that have seen him score 44 and 59.7 FD points, numbers that should be at the forefront of DFS players' minds Thursday.
Key Values
OG Anunoby, NYK at DAL ($6,200)
Anunoby is still getting settled into his new Big Apple digs, but he's coming off an encouraging performance of 32.8 FD points across 29 minutes against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday and has also put up tallies of 30.7 and 28.6 FD points in his first five games with New York. Anunoby's stellar defense and three-point shooting – he's notably averaging 1.4 steals and draining 45.5 percent of his shots from deep since joining the Knicks – could help round out his fantasy production nicely in this matchup, considering Dallas is allowing 36.6 percent shooting from behind the arc at home and has given up 7.2 steals per contest overall.
Derrick Jones, DAL vs. NYK ($5,600)
Jones should be one of several Mavericks to capitalize from Luka Doncic's absence Thursday, and the veteran wing checks in averaging 32.8 FD points per 36 minutes without his teammate on the floor. Jones has also been on a nice run of production since Christmas Day, averaging 25.7 FD points across his last nine games while shooting a crisp 48.1 percent overall in that span. The matchup for power forwards against the Knicks has generally been favorable as well, with New York allowing the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to fours (28.3), along with 46 FD points per contest in the last seven games
Grayson Allen, PHO at LAL ($5,400)
Allen does still have some volatility to his production, but he's in the midst of his most consistent season yet and is averaging new career highs in points (13.5), rebounds (4.2), assists (2.8), overall shooting (50.2 percent) and three-point shooting (47.2 percent). The veteran wing averaged an impressive 30.4 FD points in the 13 games he played between Dec. 5 and Sunday before turning in just 13.6 FD points against the Clippers on Monday, a game where he only took three shot attempts. That can be chalked up as an outlier – Allen came into that game averaging a career-high 9.4 shot attempts per contest – and Thursday, he'll face a Lakers team he already has tallies of 26.8 and 35.4 FD points against in two games this season, and that's allowing 38.0 percent three-point shooting overall, including 46.2 percent in the last three games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Tim Hardaway, DAL vs. NYK ($6,300)
