It is Thursday and we get a double-header in the Association tonight featuring the daunting duo from the Atlanta Hawks in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray traveling into the Mexico City to take on the Orlando Magic, as well as the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks heading to Indiana to face-off against Tyrese Haliburton  and the Indiana Pacers! Let's talk about these exciting games for Thursday night!

Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today.

P.S. Here's the link to our discord to get ALL of your questions answered throughout the day: https://discord.gg/AjSfwD2k 

Tune into today's NBA DFS Preview Show!

Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers

Total: 243

Spread: MIL -3

NBA Injury Report

Bucks

Pacers

  • NONE

Bucks vs Pacers NBA DFS Breakdown

Happy Thursday, everyone! Our first game of the TNT double-header features the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Indiana Pacers at 7:00 PM ET! Both the Bucks and the Pacers are back in action tonight, as they both played in games last night on Wednesday, so that is something we want to keep in mind tonight as we breakdown this game. Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected in last night's tilt playing just 22 minutes after getting assessed his second taunting technical foul. Antetokounmpo was well on his way to a masterful performance recording nearly 40 fantasy points in just the 22 minutes of action scoring 15 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing five assists, and swatting three shots! Needless to say, Giannis will likely be one of the more well-rested Bucks on this back-to-back set. Some good news for the Bucks tonight, as it should remain that Khris Middleton, who sat last night on the front end of this back-to-back set, should be back in action tonight as he continues to work his way back through injury management. The Bucks head into tonight's road game in Indiana with a 5-2 record, having won three-straight games. 

The Pacers staved off a late run from the Utah Jazz in last night's 134-118 home win behind strong performances from their start PG in Tyrese Haliburton, who amassed 46 fantasy points (has topped 40+ in every game this season so far), on 16 points, 13 assists, six boards, and a steal across just 31 minutes of action. Myles Turner also turned in a strong performance in recording 35 fantasy points, now topping 35 in three of his last four contests, needing just 21 minutes on the court to do so scoring 22 points, grabbing six rebounds, and swatting three shots. The Pacers look to continue their winning ways against one of their tougher tests to start the '23-'23 NBA season against Milwaukee, however, the Pacers have won back-to-back games while scoring at least 125 or more points in the last three-straight contests. 

When looking at these two head-to-head, I think there is quite a bit to like on both sides. For one, Indiana has struggled mightily against good paint players, so this likely sits very well for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and also against PGs. Let's look at some tidbits for Bucks vs Pacers!  

Bucks @ Pacers Tidbits:

*These two teams met for a total of four times in the ‘22-’23 regular season. These four games saw the Bucks cover the point spread in three of the four, while the OVER total points hit in every single match up. The average score of the four contests - a whopping 267.5 points! 

*The Bucks currently rank 6th (102.9) in terms of PACE (average amount of possessions measured per team over 48 minutes or full game), while the Pacers currently sit at 2nd in PACE (104.06). This game should have LOTS of possessions and that is enforced by a 243 game total. Both teams love to get up and down the floor and wok in transition in trying to catch opposing defenses off guard. 

*Some DvP (defense vs position) Numbers (FanDuel scoring) to Keep in Mind For Tonight: 

  • Pacers allowing 4th MOST FD fantasy points on average to SF position (45.48).
  • Bucks allowing 5th MOST FD fantasy points on average to SF position (45.41).
  • Bucks allowing the MOST FD fantasy points on average to the PF position (53.57).
  • Pacers allowing 2nd MOST FD fantasy points on average to the PF position (52.06).

BUCKS PLAYERS TO TARGET:

Top Plays: Giannis Antetokounmpo, .

Secondary Plays: Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Khris Middleton (still on mins limit ~ 23-25 mins), Jae Crowder, Cameron Payne

Darts (GPP/Tournaments ONLY): Malik Beasley, Pat Connaughton, Marjon Beauchamp

PACERS PLAYERS TO TARGET:

Top Plays: Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner.

Secondary Plays: Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield, Bruce Brown, Aaron Nesmith.

Darts (GPP/Tournaments ONLY): Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Smith 

 

Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic (Mexico City Arena)

Total: 231

Spread: ATL -3.5

NBA Injury Report

Hawks:

Magic:

Hawks @ Magic NBA DFS Breakdown

In the late-night hammer for tonight's double-header, we have the Atlanta Hawks taking on the Orlando Magic at 9:30 ET in Mexico. Both of these teams currently sit with a win-loss record of 4-3. The Hawks were on a four-game winning streak until they were halted in their tracks last time out against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder on the road in a 126-117 loss to snap their streak. The Magic have dealt with a plethora of injuries, as you can see above in the injury report, and are having to string together a team that has an unstable starting unit. The Magic were also on a small two-game win streak before their last time out as well, where it was snapped by the Dallas Mavericks at home in a 117-102 loss on Monday night. 

Both backcourts have essentially been one of the brighter spots for both of these teams, as we know we will be looking at mainly Trae Young to keep rolling with his performances, but the bright spot lately not only has been Dejounte Murray, who has racked up four-straight 40+ fantasy point efforts, but rookie power forward Jalen Johnson has stepped in a starting role and has put up some really good numbers, as well. Johnson has now recorded back-to-back 40+ fantasy point efforts in his last two contests and is really starting to get a feel in his role. The Magic will seemingly rely heavily on their starting trio of Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, and stud power forward Paolo Banchero tonight to do the heavy lifting for this team on both sides of the ball, but it does seem they may likely have Markelle Fultz back in the line up today as he able to log a full practice yesterday. Orlando will be using their back-up center in Goga Bitadze once again in lieu of injured Wendell Carter Jr. and he will need to stay out of foul trouble here tonight against the duo of Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu in the frontcourt of the Hawks. Both teams will utilize a couple of six-man guards off the bench in supplementing their scoring and facilitating in Orlando's Cole Anthony, and the Hawk's Bogdan Bogdanovic, who both have been playing extremely well in their roles off the bench. Let's talk about some tidbits for this clash!

Hawks vs Magic Tidbits:

*These last three meetings (last season) between these two Eastern Conference foes resulted in the Hawks winning straight up twice, as well as covering the spread two of the three times. The lines maker favorite has covered two of the three games, also. The total has gone OVER in three of those three to boot with an average score of 247.5 points!

*Looking at PACE here for these two teams - the Hawks currently rank 3rd in terms of PACE at 103.50, while the Magic currently rank 21st on the season at 99.79. With the Hawks running at such a fast PACE, much like last season, this should speed the Magic up quite a bit here tonight. The Hawks love to push the pace and Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are both very good at transition offense. The Magic will likely try to control the pace however, and look to slow this game down. It will be heavily reliant on their defense to get back and defend well in transition.

*Let's Talk DvP (FanDuel scoring) For The Hawks and Magic:

  • The Hawks currently sit right outside the top-five in allowing the 7th MOST FD fantasy points on average to the SG position (45.01).
  • The Hawks also sit in 7th MOST allowing FD fantasy points on average to opposing PFs (49.69).

HAWKS PLAYERS TO TARGET:

Top Play(s): Trae Young, Dejounte Murray. 

Secondary Play(s): Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu.

Darts (GPP ONLY): Saddiq Bey, De'Andre Hunter.

MAGIC PLAYERS TO TARGET:

Top Plays: Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner.

Secondary Plays: Markelle Fultz (QUEST - Practiced Wednesday), Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Goga Bitadze.

Darts (GPP ONLY): Moritz Wagner, Anthony Black, Joe Ingles