This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We've had two great nights of hardwood action to start the new season, but there are still a pair of notable team debuts to go in those of the Bucks and Clippers. Those unfold Thursday night, with the two-game slate also marking the return to action of Kawhi Leonard after he missed all of last season following knee surgery.
Slate Overview
Milwaukee Bucks (+3.5) at Philadelphia 76ers (-3.5) (O/U: 225.0 points)
Los Angeles Clippers (-5.5) at Los Angeles Lakers (+5.5) (O/U 223.5 points)
There are a pair of robust projected totals and reasonably narrow spreads Thursday night, which are always positive signs for DFS purposes.
The Bucks, which have a key absence to open the season in that of Khris Middleton, are understandably modest road underdogs to a 76ers team that the Celtics outpaced Tuesday night but will have the healthier squad for Thursday's game. The two teams engaged in a trio of hard-fought battles a season ago that saw each game decided by single digits, and Milwaukee prevailed in the series by a 2-1 margin.
The Clippers are "road favorites" for their tussle with their intra-city rivals, although with the two teams sharing crypt.com Arena, it's naturally not a true away contest. Leonard's return and an otherwise healthy squad make for an intriguing matchup against a Lakers team whose Big Three performed very well Opening Night against the Warriors, but that only saw one other player, Kendrick Nunn, score in double digits.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate, including those carrying injury designations that aren't listed in this section.
LeBron James, LAL (foot): PROBABLE
James is fully expected to play through his probable designation Thursday and handle his usual voluminous role.
Anthony Davis, LAL (back): PROBABLE
Davis is once again expected to play through some minor lower-back discomfort, as he did without issue Tuesday night versus the Warriors.
Khris Middleton, MIL (wrist): OUT
Middleton's multi-game absence to open the season should lead to a starting assignment for Wesley Matthews and a bump in the already robust usage of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, as well as that of Brook Lopez.
Reggie Jackson, LAC (groin): PROBABLE
Jackson is expected to handle a normal workload at point guard, although with a viable backup in John Wall this season, he could see a slight reduction in minutes.
Thomas Bryant, LAL (thumb): OUT
With Bryant out, the Lakers could once again go small at center behind Anthony Davis.
Dennis Schroder, LAL (thumb): OUT
With Schroder out, Kendrick Nunn and Austin Reaves should pick up extra minutes off the bench behind Russell Westbrook.
Other notable injuries:
Pat Connaughton, MIL (calf): OUT
Joe Ingles, MIL (knee): OUT
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,300), LeBron James ($10,800) and Joel Embiid ($10,200).
Antetokounmpo is healthy to open the season and averaged 34.3 points 13.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals in three games against the 76ers last season. He also enjoyed a strong preseason and produced a 35.8 percent usage rate with Middleton off the floor last season.
James looked rested and refreshed against the Warriors in Tuesday's season-opening tilt, posting 56 FD points on the strength of a 31-point, 15-rebound double-double. However, he has had trouble in the past when guarded by Leonard, so his overall outlook could be a tad more modest than usual.
Embiid managed 48.5 FD points in 37 minutes against the Celtics on Opening Night and averaged 35.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steal across 38 minutes over two games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Anthony Davis, LAL ($9,900)
Davis posted 46.2 FD points in 35 minutes versus the Warriors on Opening Night and put up 46.0 and 64.4 FD points in two games against the Clippers last season.
James Harden, PHI ($9,700)
Harden turned in a vintage 35-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist effort against the Celtics on Opening Night in which he encouragingly went 5-for-9 from three-point range, which should keep him extremely popular on the small slate.
Paul George, LAC ($9,200)
George won't sport the same usage as last season with Kawhi back, but he naturally retains no shortage of upside and furnished 45.1 FD points in his one game against the Lakers last season.
Jrue Holiday, MIL ($8,800)
Holiday boasted a 28.6 percent usage rate and averaged 44.8 FD points per 36 minutes with Middleton off the floor last season, and he should be on plenty of rosters on the two-game slate.
Kawhi Leonard, LAC ($8,600)
While there may be some uncertainty about how many minutes Leonard may see in his first regular-season action since May 2021, he should be heavily rostered at his reduced salary and having demonstrated his health during the preseason.
Key Values
Russell Westbrook, LAL vs. LAC ($7,200)
While there's been no shortage of negativity surrounding Westbrook since last season, the fact remains he still carries a massive ceiling and is capable of generating returns befitting of a five-figure salary. Westbrook got the new season started on the right foot versus the Warriors on Tuesday with 35.7 FD points over 30 minutes on the strength of a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, and he should win his fair share of battles against Reggie Jackson after the Clippers finished last season ranked No. 23 in offensive efficiency conceded to point guards (26.4 percent) while giving up an NBA-high 7.4 rebounds per game to the position.
Tobias Harris, PHI vs. MIL ($6,300)
Harris started the season with 29.4 FD points against the Celtics on Tuesday, and he'll now face a Bucks team that he produced 34.6 and 53.2 FD points against in two games last season. No team gave up a higher offensive efficiency rating to small forwards last season than Milwaukee, which conceded an NBA-high 25.0 percent figure in that split to the position. Moreover, a significant portion of that number was generated with Middleton available, and the Bucks will be thinner at the wing with him out of action. Much like Westbrook, Harris is a player that carries a salary he's amply capable of overdelivering on, making him an intriguing salary-saving option on the short slate.
Marcus Morris, LAC at LAL ($4,600)
Morris posted the second-highest scoring average of his career last season (15.4 PPG), and he compiled 41.9 FD points in one of his four meetings against the Lakers. L.A. (Lakers) allowed 35.2 percent three-point shooting last season and gave up a 35.6 percent figure in the opener to the Warriors, while Morris' best career showing from distance – 47.3 percent – notably came in the one season he played an ample amount of time with Kawhi. The two will be back on the floor together Thursday, giving Morris a chance to provide a strong return on a salary he generated at least a 5x return on in 29 games last season.
ALSO CONSIDER: Montrezl Harrell, PHI vs. MIL ($3,800)
