This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a big first two slates of the week, we're down to a three-game ledger Thursday night. The already narrow player pool could be further compromised by a handful of key injuries, making it a potentially challenging night for DFS roster construction.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Thursday, 11/7 @ 12:00 a.m. EST:
Utah Jazz at Milwaukee Bucks (-9) (O/U: 228.5)
Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs (-4.5) (O/U: 217.0)
Minnesota Timberwolves (-7.5) at Chicago Bulls (O/U: 226.0)
The betting lines are all over the map Thursday, and the Jazz-Bucks spread could grow even further if Giannis Antetokounmpo (thigh) is announced as available. The totals for both that game and that of the Timberwolves-Bulls contest are solid, but given spreads imply they could be somewhat non-competitive contests, it takes away some of that luster.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (thigh): QUESTIONABLE
If Antetokounmpo misses a second straight game, Bobby Portis would be in line for another start at power forward while the likes of Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez would be due for extra usage.
Lauri Markkanen, UTA (back): PROBABLE
Markkanen appears likely to return from a three-game absence after practicing in full on Wednesday.
Zach LaVine, CHI (thigh): GTD
If LaVine sits out again with the injury that sidelined him Wednesday, Ayo Dosunmu would likely be due for a second straight start.
Other notable injuries:
Devin Vassell, SAN (foot): OUT
Khris Middleton, MIL (ankle): OUT
Jordan Clarkson, UTA (heel): GTD
Shaedon Sharpe, POR (shoulder): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Thursday's slate: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500) and Victor Wembanyama ($11,400).
If Antetokounmpo is able to play through his thigh injury, he'll be looking to eclipse 60 FD points for a third consecutive game.
Wembanyama's production has been highly volatile recently, as he's scored 23.6 to 34.7 FD points in three of his past five games but has interspersed tallies of 73.3 and 78.1 FD points in the other pair contests during that span.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Damian Lillard, MIL ($8,800)
Lillard scored 40.9 FD points without Antetokounmpo in Monday's game against the Cavaliers and could be taking the floor without his teammate again Thursday. He also has totals of 59.9 and 61.3 FD points within the last four contests.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($8,700)
Edwards has seen a salary drop thanks to posting 33 and 30.5 FD points in his last two games, but on such a small slate and with his upside, he should still be in plenty of lineups Thursday.
Nikola Vucevic, CHI ($8,100)
Vucevic has considerably outperformed his current salary in the last three games, scoring 44.3 to 56 FD points in that span.
Bobby Portis, MIL ($7,900)
Portis' salary will be too elevated if Antetokounmpo plays, but he posted 52.3 FD points over 38 minutes against the Cavaliers on Monday with Giannis sitting out.
Key Values
Chris Paul, SAN vs. POR ($6,600)
Paul had turned back the clock heading into Wednesday night's game against the Rockets, as he'd posted 36.6 FD points per contest while shooting 55.8 percent, including 45.2 percent from three-point range, over the previous five contests. Paul logged only 20 minutes Wednesday in a lopsided loss for the Spurs, but he should be back to a normal workload Thursday against a Trail Blazers squad that's allowed the fifth-most FD points per game (55.3) to point guards, along with a Western Conference-high 2.9 steals per game to the position.
Brook Lopez, MIL vs. UTA ($5,900)
Lopez posted 37.2 FD points across 36 minutes Monday with Antetokounmpo sidelined, but the former is a solid play Thursday irrespective of his teammate's status. Lopez also has tallies of 38.2 and 42.6 FD points this season, so the upside is certainly impressive at his salary. Lopez is averaging 30.7 FD points per 36 minutes without Giannis on the floor this season, and he's facing a Jazz squad that went into Wednesday allowing a Western Conference-high 40.9 offensive efficiency rating and 71.1 FD points per game to centers, along with the second-most blocks per game (6.9).
Naz Reid, MIN at CHI ($5,400)
Reid is once again filling a key role off the bench for the Timberwolves, averaging 27.5 FD points per contest after generating a season-high 43.8 in only 25 minutes against the Hornets on Monday. The versatile big man is boasting career highs in points (15.3), rebounds (6.6) and assists (1.9), along with shooting a career-best 57.8 percent, including 48.5 percent from three-point range. The Bulls will be on the second night of a back-to-back set Thursday and check in allowing an NBA-high 53.1 offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players, as well as an Eastern Conference-high 40.6 offensive efficiency rating to power forwards.
ALSO CONSIDER: Mike Conley, MIN at CHI ($4,700)
