This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are only five games in the NBA on Thursday, and FanDuel is leaving off the Nuggets-Clippers nightcap, leaving us with an eight-team player pool for DFS purposes. There are a few injury concerns at play, although they're primarily centered on one team.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Thursday, 4/4 @11:30 a.m. ET:
*Atlanta Hawks at Dallas Mavericks (-12) (O/U: 228.0)
Sacramento Kings at New York Knicks (-3.5) (O/U: 214.0)
Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat (-3) (O/U: 209.5)
Golden State Warriors (-3.5) at Houston Rockets (O/U: 228.0)
*denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
Spreads are pretty encouraging on the surface from a DFS perspective considering how narrow three of them are, and even the one outlier could turn into a closer game than anticipated. One line to keep an eye on will be that of 76ers-Heat, which would see some movement if Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were confirmed as available for Philadelphia.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Joel Embiid, PHI (knee injury recovery): QUESTIONABLE
If Embiid sits out, Paul Reed or Mo Bamba would be set for a spot start, while the rest of the starting five would be in for elevated usage.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI (hip): QUESTIONABLE
If Maxey can't play, Cameron Payne would be due for another start at point guard.
Tobias Harris, PHI (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Harris sits out, Nicolas Batum is likely to draw the start at power forward.
Josh Hart, NYK (wrist): QUESTIONABLE
If Hart is sidelined, Bojan Bogdanovic will be primed for a spot start at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Trae Young, ATL (finger): OUT
OG Anunoby, NYK (elbow): OUT
Tyler Herro, MIA (foot): OUT
Julius Randle, NYK (shoulder): OUT
Jonathan Kuminga, GSW (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,500), Joel Embiid ($11,100), Domantas Sabonis ($10,800) and Dejounte Murray ($10,200).
Doncic does theoretically carry some risk due to the exceedingly large spread in his game, but the star guard naturally carries no shortage of upside, even at his elevated salary, and is averaging just under 60 FD points in his last eight games.
If Embiid is cleared to play, he's an interesting option despite the physical concerns and high salary considering he scored 44.7 FD points in only 29 minutes in his first game back Tuesday.
Sabonis is as safe as any play on the slate and checks in off having scored 61.5 FD points against the Clippers on Tuesday.
Murray has seen his production go down just a bit in the last two games, but he's still operating without Trae Young and does have four games of over 55 FD points in his last eight.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
De'Aaron Fox, GSW ($9,700)
Fox is averaging 47.1 FD points in his last seven games despite sub-par shooting, and his floor should make him one of the most popular plays just below the five-figure salary level.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,400)
Brunson could be taking the floor without Josh Hart in addition to Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, which would push his already impressive upside up further.
Donte DiVincenzo, NYK ($7,700)
DiVincenzo would also be a beneficiary of a potential Hart absence and just scored 49.8 FD points against the Heat on Tuesday with his teammate exiting early.
Jalen Johnson, ATL ($7,600)
Johnson exploded for 73.3 FD points on the strength of a triple-double Wednesday and given he'd recently missed six consecutive games, the potential effects of a back-to-back set may not be as pronounced for him Thursday.
Key Values
Andrew Wiggins, GSW at HOU ($6,500)
Wiggins has picked up his game of late with the exception of a stumble against the Spurs two games ago, and he's still averaging 30.2 FD points over his last eight games even when factoring in the dud. The veteran wing is shooting a blistering 41.7 percent from behind the arc in that span while averaging 13.4 shot attempts per contest, a nice uptick from the 10.6 he'd averaged going into that stretch dating back to the start of the season. Wiggins could also benefit from another potential absence on the part of Jonathan Kuminga (knee) on Thursday, and it's also worth noting he's been a more productive player on the road all the way around this season (13.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.5 APG).
P.J. Washington, DAL vs. ATL ($6,200)
Washington seems to have found his stride in Dallas, averaging 26.2 FD points over his last 10 games on the strength of 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per contest over that stretch. Washington has eclipsed 32 FD points on three occasions in the sample, and he's getting it done despite struggling with his shot most nights. The Hawks make for an appealing matchup, considering they're allowing the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to power forwards (29.6), along with 51.3 percent shooting and 50.2 FD points per contest to the position on the season.
Brandin Podziemski, GSW at HOU ($5,500)
None of the value plays spotlighted Thursday come without risk, but Podziemski's very reasonable salary does make the uncertainty surrounding him a bit more palatable. The rookie has seen his production fluctuate a fair amount of late, but he'll check into Thursday having scored 31.4 and 23.5 FD points in his last two games. The Rockets also come in allowing 37.2 percent three-point shooting to two-guards, which matches Podziemski's impressive success rate from distance as a first-year player.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cameron Payne, PHI at MIA ($5,500) (if Maxey is out); Bojan Bogdanovic, NYK vs. SAC ($4,300) (if Hart is out)
