Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Kemba Walker over 4.5 assists (-106) vs. Raptors -- FanDuel, 1:30 PM CT

The Raptors will be extremely shorthanded for this one. OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are all sidelined. Toronto already allows the third-most assists per game in the NBA (26.7) and will be more susceptible with their key players out. Walker's passing has been strong lately, with the point guard averaging 6.7 dimes across the past three games.

Nick Whalen

Michael Porter Jr. OVER 14.5 points (-110) at Indiana -- DraftKings Sportsbook

Porter Jr. has gone over 14 points in three of his last four games, with the outlier coming against Milwaukee on Tuesday, when he played only 25 minutes in a 31-point blowout. He hasn't exactly been a model of consistency this season, but it feels like there may be some recency bias baked into the number. He'll go up against a Pacers team that's playing at a top-10 pace over its last 10 games, while allowing 114.0 points per game (and 23.7 free throw attempts) during that span. With JaMychal Green and Paul Millsap sitting out again, Porter's minutes should climb into the 30s, assuming the game is relatively close. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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