This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The NBA's wild see-saw week continues Thursday with a two-game slate following Wednesday's massive 14-game ledger. The drastic reduction in player pool can be jarring, but fortunately, the injury report is exceedingly light and therefore doesn't rob us further of options.
Slate Overview
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Both spreads at play Thursday are set at 3.5 points on FanDuel Sportsbook as of early Thursday, certainly a welcome sight since they bode well for the chances of close games.
There's similar appeal in the projected totals, which sit at a robust 243.5 (Bucks-Pacers) and 231.5 (Hawks-Magic). With that degree of expected offense, there should be multiple pathways across the salary scale for us to gain access to some of the more productive individual performances.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Khris Middleton, MIL (rest): GTD
Middleton is likely to be back in the starting five Thursday after sitting out the first game of the back-to-back set Wednesday for knee injury management purposes.
Markelle Fultz, ORL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Fultz misses a fourth straight game Thursday, Anthony Black could continue in the starting lineup.
Other notable injuries:
Jonathan Isaac, ORL (hamstring): PROBABLE
Gary Harris, ORL (groin): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,600) and Tyrese Haliburton ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo's performances early this season have actually been somewhat subdued by his standards, although he did compile 60.9 FD points two games ago against the Nets. He also posted a stellar 41.3 in just 21 minutes against the Pistons on Wednesday night before drawing two technical fouls and getting ejected. With some unexpected rest as a result, he should be relatively fresh for Thursday's likely competitive matchup.
Haliburton should once again spearhead the Pacers on Thursday in a game during which he could log particularly heavy minutes, and he'll come into the contest with 41.4 FD points serving as his lowest score yet this season. He played a modest 30 minutes against the Jazz on Wednesday night, so the fact it's the second night of a back-to-back set shouldn't be too much of a factor.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Trae Young, ATL ($9,000)
Young is averaging an impressive 40.8 FD points per contest and has enjoyed a floor of 35.7 FD points this season, so he should be highly popular on a small slate
Damian Lillard, MIL ($8,600)
Lillard has had a couple of real-world 30-point efforts in the last three games and has scored over 40 FD points in three straight, his best stretch of the season.
Dejounte Murray, ATL ($8,300)
Murray has a pair of 42.8 FD-point tallies in his last three games and one of 59.8 in the game before that stretch, making him one of the best potential values on the slate.
Paolo Banchero, ORL ($7,900)
Banchero has scored over 50 FD points in two of his last three games, with Fultz's absence, which could continue Thursday, certainly playing a part in the boost in usage.
Key Values
Jalen Suggs, ORL vs. ATL ($5,800)
Speaking of Fultz's potential absence, Suggs could continue to be a primary beneficiary, and he checks into Thursday having scored 24.3 to 27.7 FD points in the first three games of his teammate's current absence. However, Suggs has been productive with his backcourt mate available as well, as he opened the campaign by scoring 25.7 to 37 FD points in three of his first four contests as well. The third-year guard is still shooting an abysmal 36.2 percent, so even a slight boost in efficiency Thursday against a Hawks team allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating to two-guards (25.0) and 49.6 percent shooting to the position, including 45.7 percent from distance, could really allow him to overdeliver on his modest salary.
Brook Lopez, MIL at IND ($5,500)
Lopez's production has been up and down early this season, but he'll enter Thursday having just scored 30.2 FD points against the Pistons over 26 minutes on Wednesday. Lopez also racked up 45 FD points two games ago, offering a vivid reminder of his upside. Lopez now runs into an old nemesis in the Pacers and Myles Turner, against which he posted tallies of 28.2, 28.7 and 40.1 FD points last season Indiana is also allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (41.6) and the sixth-most FD points per game to the position as well (47.9). Then, Indiana is also conceding the fourth-most blocks per game (6.7), certainly a relevant stat when considering a prolific shot rejector like Lopez.
Jae Crowder, MIL at IND ($4,500)
Crowder has been a reliable component of Milwaukee' second unit thus far, averaging 20.8 FD points in 26 minutes per game. The veteran has scored 22 to 27.2 FD points in three straight contests, and although Middleton should be back in the starting five Thursday, Crowder should still be set for at least 24-27 minutes off the bench. Indiana has given up the second-most FD points per game to power forwards (52.1), as well as the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players (48.7). The latter figure is partly the result of the Pacers surrendering 47.3 percent shooting to bench players, including 41.2 percent from behind the arc, and Crowder went into Wednesday shooting a career-high 52.6 percent, including 52.0 percent from three-point range.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cole Anthony, ORL vs. ATL, ($6,300); Bogdan Bogdanovic, ATL at ORL ($5,100)
