After the NBA Cup dominated the last two nights, we're back to a more conventional four-game slate Thursday. The injury report is encouragingly light, so we'll have a solid eight-team player pool to work with that should be more than adequate for either cash games or tournaments.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Thursday, Dec. 11 @ 11:30 a.m. EST:
Boston Celtics (-9) at Milwaukee Bucks (O/U: 223.5)
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets (-9.5) (O/U: 221.5)
Portland Trail Blazers (-4.5) at New Orleans Pelicans (O/U: 239.5)
Denver Nuggets (-10) at Sacramento Kings (O/U: 239.5)
We have a less-than-ideal situation in terms of point spreads Thursday, considering there are three double-digit favorites. However, the pair of 239.5-point projected totals help offset that to an extent, and on paper, the Trail Blazers-Pelicans clash offers the best combination of both metrics.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Zach LaVine, SAC (thumb): OUT
In LaVine's absence, Malik Monk and Keon Ellis could handle the majority of the minutes at shooting guard, while DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook should be primary beneficiaries in terms of usage boosts.
Donovan Clingan, POR (lower leg): OUT
In Clingan's absence, Robert Williams would draw a start if he's able to play through his questionable tag due to an illness, while Duop Reath will be the next man up if Williams is also sidelined.
Other notable injuries:
Jrue Holiday, POR (calf): OUT
Robert Williams, POR (illness): QUESTIONABLE
Dennis Schroder, SAC (hip): DOUBTFUL
Elite Players
There is one player with a five-figure salary on Thursday's slate in Nikola Jokic ($12,800).
Jokic has eclipsed 52 FD points in four straight games, and he'll be facing a shorthanded Kings squad that he recorded 68.1 FD points against over 36 minutes on Nov. 22.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,900)
Sengun has been cleared after missing the last two games due to illness, and he should have fresh legs after last having played eight days ago. The star center posted tallies of 79.6 and 53.5 FD points in his most recent pair of contests, which should make him very popular.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($9,700)
Brown has eclipsed 50 FD points in three straight games, which should lock him into plenty of lineups at his salary Thursday.
Deni Avdija, POR ($9,600)
Avdija has boasted a floor in the low 40s for the majority of the season and is drawing an excellent matchup against the Pelicans, factors that should make him very popular Thursday.
Kevin Porter, MIL ($8,500)
Porter has averaged 48 FD points over his last four games while shooting a blistering 58.1 percent, including 61.5 percent from behind the arc, which makes him a potential bargain at his salary.
Russell Westbrook, SAC ($7,800)
Westbrook just erupted for 65.4 FD points across 40 minutes against the Pacers on Monday, and with Zach LaVine out Thursday, the veteran point guard should be very popular at his salary.
Key Values
Toumani Camara, POR at NOP ($5,800)
Camara does have his occasional single-digit-scoring clunkers, but he's still averaging 27.6 FD points over his last 10 games while shooting an impressive 38.4 percent from three-point range in that span. Camara also already has one encouraging showing against the Pelicans this season, posting 29.1 FD points across 38 minutes versus New Orleans on Nov. 12. The positional matchup doesn't get any better on paper Thursday, as the Pelicans come in allowing an NBA-high 46.6 FD points per game to shooting guards, a figure that's largely the byproduct of New Orleans surrendering an NBA-high 26.5 points and 4.1 made threes per game to the position.
Neemias Queta, BOS at MIL ($5,400)
Queta has developed into a very viable starting center over his first 22 games this season, putting up 10.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks across 24.2 minutes per contest. The big man has been particularly productive of late, averaging 30.2 FD points over his last 10 games on the strength of 12.0 points, 8.3 boards, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per contest. The opposing Bucks come in surrendering 47.1 FD points per contest to centers on the season, along with the fifth-highest shooting percentage (56.2) to the position. Milwaukee also ranks No. 19 with 5.2 free-throw attempts per game facilitated to fives, and the Bucks have conceded the fifth-most total rebounds per game overall (55.8).
Jose Alvarado, NOP vs. POR ($4,700)
Alvarado has been running hot off the Pelicans bench in the last couple of weeks, churning out 26.7 FD points across his last eight games via a diverse stat line that includes 13.1 points, 4.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest. Alvarado has also connected on 40.4 percent of his 6.5 three-point attempts per game in that span, and he's logging close to a starter's workload (28.3 minutes per game) in his second-unit role. The Trail Blazers shape up as a good target for the talented guard, as they're giving up the third-highest offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players (50.5) and the seventh highest to backcourt players (53.9). Portland is also yielding the fifth-most FD points per contest to point guards (53.6) in the last 15 games, along with the second-most steals per contest on the road (10.7) overall.
ALSO CONSIDER: Bobby Portis, MIL vs. BOS ($5,400); Maxime Raynaud, SAC vs. DEN ($5,000)
