Thursday's five-game NBA DFS slate on FanDuel closes out the final week of the regular season with several compelling matchups and no double-digit spreads. Injuries continue to reshape the landscape, creating value opportunities throughout the player pool. Here's everything you need to build a winning lineup Thursday night.
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FanDuel Main Slate NBA Games Today
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.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, April 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET:
- Chicago Bulls (-6) at Washington Wizards (O/U: 247.5)
- Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors (-3.5) (O/U: 236.5)
- Indiana Pacers (-3.5) at Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 224.5)
- Boston Celtics at New York Knicks (-4.5) (O/U: 215.5)
- Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets (-3.5) (O/U: 227.5)
The betting metrics have a bit of everything Thursday, with one welcome exception – no double-digit spreads. That theoretically means we're in for a night of competitive games that could see plenty of full workloads for players, and there are three games that particularly have potential for plenty of useful individual performances.
NBA Injury Report
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Josh Giddey, CHI (hamstring): OUT
In Giddey's absence, Rob Dillingham and Collin Sexton should see the majority of minutes at point guard, while the rest of the starting five will see a bump in usage.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (Achilles): QUESTIONABLE
If Brown can't suit up, Jayson Tatum will see even more usage than usual, while Payton Pritchard or Baylor Scheierman could enter the first unit.
Pascal Siakam, IND (ankle): OUT
In Siakam's absence, Obi Toppin and Kobe Brown are likely to absorb the majority of minutes at power forward while the rest of the starting five sees increased opportunity.
Matas Buzelis, CHI (illness): OUT
With Buzelis out of action, Patrick Williams and Leonard Miller should see the majority of minutes at power forward.
Other notable injuries:
Derrick White, BOS (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Andrew Nembhard, IND (back): OUT
Alex Sarr, WAS (toe): OUT
Noah Clowney, BKN (ankle): OUT
Nic Claxton, BKN (finger): OUT
Nolan Traore, BKN (rest): OUT
Isaac Okoro, CHI (quadriceps): OUT
Norman Powell, MIA (groin): QUESTIONABLE
Neemias Queta, BOS (toe): QUESTIONABLE
Bilal Coulibaly, WAS (heel): QUESTIONABLE
Justin Champagnie, WAS (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Jarace Walker, IND (back): QUESTIONABLE
Kobe Brown, IND (back): QUESTIONABLE
Collin Sexton, CHI (finger): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Jayson Tatum ($10,700), Jaylen Brown ($10,200) and Tyrese Maxey ($10,000).
Tatum could be taking the floor without Jaylen Brown on Thursday and checks in averaging 45.6 FD points over his last 12 games while exceeding 50 in five of the last seven.
Brown's questionable status will bear monitoring due to his questionable tag, but if he's available, he'll look to extend a torrid stretch that's seen him average 48.4 FD points over his last 10 games.
Maxey has uncharacteristically been under 27 FD points in two straight, but he'd averaged 46.6 in the four games prior.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Scottie Barnes, TOR ($9,700)
Barnes went off for 47.1 FD points in the same matchup against the Heat on Tuesday, so he should be highly rostered on the small slate.
Joel Embiid, PHI ($9,500)
Embiid has put up 53.1 and 57.9 FD points in his last two games, and he comes into Thursday's marquee matchup with two days of rest.
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,400)
Sengun has exceeded 45 FD points in two of his last four games and is locked into a marquee showdown with Embiid, which should ensure his popularity Thursday.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,000)
Brunson has a tough matchup against the Celtics but scored 56.1 FD points his last time on the floor Monday against the Hawks, and he has three other tallies of more than 41 within his last six contests.
Amen Thompson, HOU ($8,900)
Thompson put up 55.2 FD points against the Suns on Tuesday and is averaging 41.9 FD points over his last 12 games overall, which should lead to a high roster rate at his salary.
Key Values
Immanuel Quickley, TOR vs. MIA ($6,200)
Quickley is a value option that requires a bit of faith Thursday, as the veteran guard was relatively subdued in his 18-minute return from injury Tuesday against Miami. Quickley put up just three shots and finished with three points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, but that still led to better than a fantasy point per minute (19.8). While his salary remains elevated relative to that output, we could well see his minutes enjoy a nice bump Thursday and benefit from the corresponding production. Quickley had averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 32.1 FD points over his first two games of the season against Miami while playing 34.5 minutes per contest in those games, and the Heat also checks in allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per contest to point guards in the last 15 games (51.4).
Leonard Miller, CHI at WAS ($6,000)
Miller continued a run of solid production in Tuesday's first game against the Wizards, providing 30.1 FD points across just 25 minutes in what was his second straight start. The third-year pro should continue filling in at power forward Thursday, as Matas Buzelis remains out due to illness. Chicago will also be missing Josh Giddey and Nick Richards due to hamstring and elbow injuries, respectively, and Isaac Okoro will join that trio on the sidelines Thursday due to a quadriceps injury. Miller is averaging 40.3 FD points per 36 minutes with all four teammates off the floor, and he's once again facing a Wizards squad that's given up an NBA-high 57.5 FD points per contest to power forwards in the last 15 games, as well as an NBA-high 31.6 offensive efficiency rating to the position on the season.
Drake Powell, BKN vs. IND ($4,400)
The Nets, much like the Bulls, are an injury-decimated bunch that will see their entire first unit except for Powell sit out Thursday's game. That will leave the rookie first-round pick with quite the usage and workload bump, especially with Terance Mann also sidelined. Powell checks in on an encouraging three-game run of an uptick in production where he's averaging 24.6 FD points despite shooting an abysmal 33.3 percent over that span. The Pacers are surrendering the fourth-most FD points to shooting guards in the last 15 games (46.4) and fourth-most actual points (26.4) to the position in that span as well, which brightens Powell's outlook in a game where he'll seemingly be assured a robust allotment of minutes.
ALSO CONSIDER: Collin Murray-Boyles, TOR vs. MIA ($5,100)
