We're set for a five-game main slate on FanDuel on Thursday night, one that features plenty of star power and some intriguing matchups. There is a relatively light injury report as well, so we're still working with a strong player pool despite the modest size of the slate.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Thursday, Jan. 15 @ 1:00 a.m. EST:
Phoenix Suns at Detroit Pistons (-6.5) (O/U: 223.5)
Boston Celtics (-2) at Miami Heat (O/U: 233.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-4.5) at Houston Rockets (O/U: 222.5)
Milwaukee Bucks at San Antonio Spurs (-7.5) (O/U: 227.5)
Utah Jazz (-1) at Dallas Mavericks (O/U: 236.5)
We have pretty solid betting outlook Thursday, as spreads suggest a night of tightly contested games. There are a pair of projected lower-scoring games – unsurprising given those are attached to the Suns-Pistons and Thunder-Rockets battles – but the other three games on the ledger should feature DFS-friendly environments.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Devin Booker, PHO (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Booker can't suit up, Jordan Goodwin could draw a start at shooting guard, while the likes of Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams could see plenty of extra usage.
Cooper Flagg, DAL (ankle): GTD
If Flagg can't play with the ankle injury that forced him from Wednesday's game against the Nuggets, Ryan Nembhard and D'Angelo Russell could handle the majority of minutes at point guard.
Lauri Markkanen, UTA (illness): GTD
If Markkanen can't play Thursday, Brice Sensabaugh, who went off for 43 points and 56 FD points against the Bulls in a spot start in his stead Wednesday, will remain in the starting five.
Other notable injuries:
Jalen Green, PHO (hamstring): OUT
Tari Eason, HOU (ankle): OUT
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC (calf): OUT
Devin Vassell, SAN (thigh): OUT
Davion Mitchell, MIA (shoulder): DOUBTFUL
Jaime Jaquez, MIA (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Royce O'Neale, UTA (biceps): PROBABLE
Tobias Harris, DET (hip): PROBABLE
Jalen Duren, DET (ankle): PROBABLE
Isaiah Stewart, DET (illness): PROBABLE
Tyler Herro, MIA (toe): PROBABLE
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (ankle): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,400), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,900), Cade Cunningham ($10,800) and Victor Wembanyama ($10,100).
Antetokounmpo recorded 38.1 FD points over 30 minutes in his most recent game Tuesday, but he's still averaging over 50 FD points per contest for the season.
SGA will be in a tough defensive matchup against the Rockets, but he checks in having scored 50 to 68.2 FD points in his last three games.
Cunningham is cleared to return from a two-game absence due to a wrist injury and has eclipsed 52 FD points in three straight contests.
Wembanyama is still playing under 30 minutes and posted just 28.9 FD points against the Thunder on Tuesday, but he'd scored over 44 in three of the previous four games while playing no more than 26 minutes in any of those games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,600)
Sengun has scored over 43 FD points in each of his first two games back from an ankle injury, which should make him very popular on the small slate.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($9,400)
Brown is off the injury report after a one-game absence due to a back injury and has scored over 41 FD points in three straight games, so he should remain highly rostered Thursday.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,200)
Assuming Booker is cleared to play through his ankle injury, he'll look to eclipse 47 FD points for the third time in the last four games.
Kevin Durant, HOU ($9,000)
Durant has eclipsed 41 FD points in five of the last six games, and he should be in plenty of lineups for a marquee matchup against the Thunder.
Amen Thompson, HOU ($8,700)
Thompson has scored over 42 FD points in three of the last four games, which should make him very popular at his salary.
Key Values
Neemias Queta, BOS at MIA ($5,600)
Queta continues to churn out meaningful production down low for the Celtics, most recently averaging 29.1 FD points on 10.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals across 25.7 minutes per contest in his last 10 games. Queta has scored at least 30 FD points in half of those contests as well, which corroborates the impressive upside he offers at his still very reasonable salary. The Heat are allowing 53.9 FD points per contest to centers in the last 15 games as well – along with the fifth-most rebounds (56.4) and sixth-most points in the paint (53.9) per home contest for the season – which all help further make the case for Queta as a value option.
Brandon Williams, DAL vs. UTA ($5,500)
Williams was already shaping up as an appealing play Thursday, but his appeal naturally skyrockets if Cooper Flagg is forced to sit out due to the ankle injury that forced him for Wednesday's game against the Nuggets. Williams produced 34.9 FD points across 25 minutes in that contest, and he now should have a very good chance of drawing a spot start Thursday in a highly favorable matchup against the Jazz. Utah is surrendering an NBA-high 55.4 FD points per contest to point guards for the season, including an NBA-high 61.5 in the last 15 games, while Williams has flashed some nice upside for his salary by scoring 26 FD points or more on 16 occasions already this season.
Julian Champagnie, SAN vs. MIL ($5,400)
Champagnie is in the midst of a nice eight-game starting run, averaging 32.9 FD points on the strength of 17.3 points (on 41.3% three-point shooting), 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 33.1 minutes per contest in that span. Champagnie has a trio of double-doubles and a 36-point tally in that span, making him quite the high-upside play at his salary. He's been consistent enough to consider in cash games as well as tournaments, while the Bucks have surrendered 45.3 FD points per contest to small forwards in the last 30 games and have surrendered NBA-high 45.1 percent shooting from behind the arc in the last three contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Anfernee Simons, BOS at MIA ($4,700)
