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What you need to know for Thursday's games
Wednesday's 14-game slate provided a good deal of fantasy fodder to consider. The Sacramento Kings, still missing All-Star initiator De'Aaron Fox to an injury, netted big lines from a pair of widely-available guards, with Malik Monk getting ot the line 19 times and Davion Mitchell finally surfacing with a big game in a shift to the pine, where's he's seemingly most comfortable.
A hamstring injury struck the oft-ailing Malcolm Brogdon last night against the Kings. Skylar Mays, a free agent in 99% of ESPN men's basketball leagues, tallied a double-double with points and dimes in the loss to Sacramento and could be interesting now that the Trail Blazers' backcourt is thinned by several injuries.
My favorite immediate move might be adding Keyonte George of the Utah Jazz, as the first-round rookie shifted to the starting lineup last night and delivered nine assists to a single turnover. Given Talen Horton-Tucker's struggles to distribute, George is likely the team's starting point guard going forward.
Pivoting to Thursday's two-game slate, the good news is that each game claims some coveted offensive climates; the Indiana Pacers host the Milwaukee Bucks in a contest with a video-game-like total of 243.5 points. No really, the baseline for scoring is so high that stacking between these rosters is ideal. Both teams played last night, so the injury report won't be updated until later today, while the Bucks being four-point road favorites suggests we see their full crew active.
Finding paths to this earlier game could prove rewarding; the Pacers rank first in offensive rating (Bucks 11th), while both teams sit in the bottom six in defensive efficiency. The box score will be full of buckets, including from a few streaming candidates below.
The nightcap has the Orlando Magic "hosting" the Atlanta Hawks in Mexico City, thus the later start time. The Vegas ingredients for this one are also fantasy-friendly; the total hovers around 233 on most books. If I could scream this, I would; go acquire Atlanta's Jalen Johnson, who remains a free agent in more than half of ESPN leagues despite being a top-15 wing by statistical standards through the first two weeks of action.
For more insight into some savvy streaming additions, check out the section below.
Thursday's Stream Team
This segment nominates three key streaming options ahead of that day's action. A streamer, by our standards, is a player available in at least half of ESPN men's fantasy basketball leagues.
Jalen Smith, PF/C, Pacers (rostered in 7.0% of ESPN leagues): The minutes and role fluctuates at times for Smith, but a bigger Bucks lineup could propel him into more lineups, helping his strong rebounding and defensive rates to surface.
Onyeka Okongwu, PF/C, Hawks (46.9%): The minutes are often capped, but elite rebounding and rim-protection results are always in the cards for this two-way force.
Jae Crowder, SF/PF, Bucks (6.7%): The Bucks are leaning on Crowder during Khris Middleton's injury woes, leading to massive minutes and open catch-and-shoot chances.
Aaron Nesmith, SF, Pacers (5.8%): Producing points off the pine for the Pacers' second units lately, Nesmith is mostly a shooting and scoring specialist in a game with a lofty total.
Projections and Injury Reports
Fantasy projections powered by ESPN Analytics.* Projections assume all players who are listed as GTD will play. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Players available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues are listed in italics.
Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers7 p.m. ET Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
BPI Projection: Pacers by 2.2 in the highest-scoring game of the slate.
Injury Report:
Bucks: Khris Middleton, (GTD - Rest)
Pacers: None reported
Bucks projections:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C: 43.6 FPTS (29.5 pts, 10.7 reb, 4.5 ast, 1.2 blk)
Damian Lillard, PG: 40.8 FPTS (24.9 pts, 5.4 reb, 5.4 ast, 2.6 3PM)
Brook Lopez, C: 22.0 FPTS (13.0 pts, 5.4 reb, 0.8 ast, 1.8 3PM, 2.4 blk)
Bobby Portis, PF/C: 21.7 FPTS (11.4 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.3 ast)
Khris Middleton, SF: 21.1 FPTS (12.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 2.8 ast)
Malik Beasley, SG: 18.1 FPTS (9.5 pts, 2.8 reb, 1.1 ast, 2.1 3PM)
Pat Connaughton, SG/SF: 16.0 FPTS (7.6 pts, 3.8 reb, 1.3 ast)
Pacers projections:
Tyrese Haliburton, PG/SG: 47.2 FPTS (22.4 pts, 4.1 reb, 8.8 ast, 2.8 3PM)
Myles Turner, C: 26.3 FPTS (14.7 pts, 7.1 reb, 1.5 ast, 1.5 blk)
Bruce Brown, SG/SF: 22.5 FPTS (11.5 pts, 4.2 reb, 1.8 ast)
Buddy Hield, SG/SF: 20.2 FPTS (8.7 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.6 ast, 2.2 3PM)
Bennedict Mathurin, SG/SF: 19.5 FPTS (11.9 pts, 3.6 reb, 2.0 ast)
Jalen Smith, PF/C: 18.0 FPTS (8.8 pts, 5.7 reb, 0.9 ast)
Andrew Nembhard, PG/SG: 17.8 FPTS (9.1 pts, 1.9 reb, 2.9 ast)
Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic9:30 p.m. ET Amway Center, Orlando
BPI Projection: Hawks by 6 in the 2nd highest-scoring game of the slate.
Injury Report:
Hawks: Mouhamed Gueye, (GTD - Back); Wesley Matthews, (OUT - Calf); Kobe Bufkin, (OUT - Thumb)
Magic: Jonathan Isaac, (GTD - Hamstring); Markelle Fultz, (GTD - Knee); Gary Harris, (OUT - Groin); Wendell Carter Jr., (OUT - Finger)
Hawks projections:
Trae Young, PG: 43.4 FPTS (25.1 pts, 3.2 reb, 9.0 ast, 2.2 3PM)
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG: 40.4 FPTS (21.0 pts, 4.7 reb, 5.8 ast, 1.8 3PM)
De'Andre Hunter, SF/PF: 24.4 FPTS (14.2 pts, 4.4 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.8 3PM)
Jalen Johnson, SF: 23.5 FPTS (11.7 pts, 6.1 reb, 2.0 ast)
Clint Capela, C: 23.0 FPTS (10.4 pts, 8.9 reb, 0.9 ast)
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF: 21.7 FPTS (10.2 pts, 2.3 reb, 3.2 ast, 2.2 3PM)
Saddiq Bey, SF/PF: 20.0 FPTS (9.3 pts, 4.2 reb, 1.2 ast)
Magic projections:
Franz Wagner, SG/SF/PF: 40.7 FPTS (23.2 pts, 5.5 reb, 4.1 ast, 2.4 3PM)
Paolo Banchero, SF/PF: 38.2 FPTS (21.5 pts, 6.8 reb, 5.8 ast)
Cole Anthony, PG: 29.1 FPTS (15.4 pts, 4.9 reb, 2.9 ast)
Jalen Suggs, PG/SG: 28.6 FPTS (13.5 pts, 5.2 reb, 2.5 ast)
Anthony Black, PG/SG: 19.2 FPTS (10.0 pts, 4.8 reb, 2.8 ast)
Moritz Wagner, PF/C: 18.6 FPTS (9.6 pts, 4.3 reb, 0.9 ast)
Goga Bitadze, C: 16.6 FPTS (7.5 pts, 6.1 reb, 1.1 ast, 1.6 blk)