This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a four-game slate Thursday night featuring four intriguing matchups highlighted by a Warriors-Celtics star-studded clash. The injury report is also relatively light in terms of possible short-term absences, helping keep what's an already abbreviated player pool viable.
Slate Overview
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Three of Thursday's four games have spreads of 3.5 points or smaller, which is always encouraging from a DFS perspective as it usually offers a safety net in terms of player minutes. Projected totals also offer reason for optimism, as two games check in with figures comfortably over 230 points and none carries a number lower than 223 points.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Kyrie Irving, BKN (calf): PROBABLE
Irving is expected to take the floor after a one-game absence and take on some extra responsibility with Kevin Durant (knee) out.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (groin): QUESTIONABLE
Brown put in a full practice Wednesday, seemingly upping his chances of suiting up Thursday. If he remains out, however, Jayson Tatum should enjoy even more usage than usual.
Chris Paul, PHO (hip): QUESTIONABLE
Paul was able to practice Wednesday and therefore has a chance of returning from a five-game absence, which would give him a chance to walk back into an especially high-usage role with Devin Booker (groin) still sidelined.
Rudy Gobert, MIN (groin): GTD
If Gobert, who missed Wednesday's game against the Nuggets, can't suit up Thursday, Naz Reid should remain in the starting five.
Other notable injuries:
Kevin Durant, BKN (knee): OUT
Devin Booker, PHO (groin): OUT
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (calf): OUT
Landry Shamet, PHO (foot): OUT
Cameron Payne, PHO (foot): OUT
Jusuf Nurkic, POR (calf): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Thursday's slate – Joel Embiid ($11,500), Jayson Tatum ($11,000), James Harden ($10,300) and Damian Lillard ($10,000).
Embiid has scored over 50 FD points in two straight and three of the last five overall, and Thursday, he faces a Trail Blazers team that's allowed the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (33.3).
Tatum just went off for 51 points against the Hornets on Monday, netting 65.3 FD points across 40 minutes. He also eclipsed 50 FD points in three of the prior four games, and if Jaylen Brown is out again Thursday, it's worth noting Tatum owns a 35.8 percent usage rate and averages 49.7 FD points per 36 minutes without his teammate on the floor.
Harden turned in a clunker against the Clippers on Tuesday that led to 26.1 FD points, but he'd scored over 50 FD points in four of the previous five games while generating a double-double or triple-double in each game during that span.
Lillard has scored 54.6 FD points or more in four straight games and has eclipsed the 50-mark in five of his last six contests overall, shooting a blistering 54.1 percent during that span.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,500)
Curry just scored 48.4 FD points over 38 minutes against the Wizards on Monday and put up 48.7 in his one prior meeting against the Celtics this season.
Pascal Siakam, TOR ($9,300)
Siakam dipped to 37.3 FD points in his most recent contest after eclipsing 50 two games ago, but as a big man with a significant ceiling, he should be very popular on a small slate.
Kyrie Irving, BKN ($9,200)
Irving has scored a relatively modest 39.4 and 34.2 FD points in his first two games without Kevin Durant (knee) on the floor. However, he should remain in plenty of lineups Thursday due to a salary he's amply proven capable of overdelivering on.
Scottie Barnes, TOR ($8,200)
Barnes is on a hot streak that's seen him score 46.1 to 53.4 FD points in his last four games, a stretch where he's averaging 22.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks across 38.3 minutes.
Fred VanVleet, TOR ($7,900)
VanVleet rides into Thursday on a two-game streak that has seen him average 36.0 points, 7.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.0 block, and 60.6 FD points, numbers that should keep him extremely popular Thursday. Minnesota also ranks eighth in the league in pace, which could benefit VanVleet's fantasy line.
Key Values
Derrick White, BOS vs. GSW ($5,800)
White posted 33.6 FD points against the Hornets on Monday, his fourth game of 25.8 FD points or more in the last six. White is shooting a sizzling 44.0 percent from three-point range during that span, and the Warriors check in allowing the second-highest three-point shooting percentage on the road (40.9). Golden State surrenders the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to two-guards (24.1) and the third-most FD points per game to the position (44.7). Meanwhile, White has shown some nice upside for a player of his salary, scoring 27.3 FD points or more in 15 games.
T.J. Warren, BKN at PHO ($5,000)
Warren sports a solid 23.1 percent usage rate and is averaging 30.8 FD points per 36 minutes with Kevin Durant (knee) off the floor thus far, and he checks into Thursday's matchup against his old Suns squad having already scored 24.3 to 40.6 FD points in eight of his first 19 games. The veteran forward is shooting 52.5 percent, including 35.0 percent from three-point range, this season, and the Suns come in allowing 48.5 FD points per game to power forwards over the last 15 contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Al Horford, BOS vs. GSW ($5,200)
