Fantasy basketball tips and projections for Thursday

Babar Afridi and Usama help Pakistan level series

The ageless LeBron James and an ascendant Rui Hachimura provided just a few of the many compelling statistical storylines from Wednesday's epic dozen-game slate. Thursday features just two games ahead of another 12-game schedule set for Friday, so fantasy managers will want to deeply dissect the quartet of rosters in order to maximize value.

The first of Thursday's tandem has the Boston Celtics at State Farm Arena to face the Atlanta Hawks. The top-seeded Celtics are massive road favorites (-16.5 at ESPN BET), even with Al Horford and Jrue Holiday listed as questionable. The talented, if top heavy, Boston rotation hasn't afforded many opportunities for streaming value this season, but guard Payton Pritchard (20.0% rostered in ESPN leagues) has recently emerged as an awesome option thanks to a blend of shooting, scoring, and volume passing. Even Sam Hauser (8.3%) could shine as a shooting specialist in this one.

For Atlanta, two-way wing De'Andre Hunter (19.1%) recently hit a game-deciding shot against the Celtics thanks to a new level of offensive empowerment amid the absence of Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and Saddiq Bey. Even Czech standout Vit Krejci (2.7%) is seeing significant minutes and performed well against the Celtics earlier this week.

The second game of the day presents a more competitive climate, as the Milwaukee Bucks visit the New Orleans Pelicans as slight road favorites. The Bucks have a clean injury report save for the absence of backup guard Patrick Beverley, while the Pelicans won't have wings Dyson Daniels or Brandon Ingram due to respective injuries. We mention Herbert Jones (39.1%) and Trey Murphy III (41.3%) often in this space, but with good reason as they are uniquely productive two-way talents with elevated opportunity rates on offense whenever Ingram is out.

An interesting DFS and prop angle to consider could be Zion Williamson's increased distribution duties without Ingram; he turns into a point forward of sorts in such scenarios, having dished 20 assists over the past three games.

Thursday's Stream Team

Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans (Rostered in 41.3% of ESPN leagues)

With 1.8 combined blocks and steals per game over the past week and an average of eight 3-point attempts in his past three outings, Murphy really does embody the ideal 3-and-D archetype. His teammate Herbert Jones is a better passer and more active in passing lanes on defense, aiding a valuable profile even when he's not scoring much. Both will be busy chasing around Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo on Thursday night.

De'Andre Hunter, SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks (19.1%)

Did I play hoops for the same high school as Hunter (albeit years and years apart)? Yes, yes I did. As the top player in Friends' Central history, Hunter has a special spot in my fantasy league, but this endorsement is purely based on his recent leap in scoring and playing time amid a depleted Atlanta rotation. The Celtics have a strong perimeter defense, but Hunter's size could help his cause for easier buckets.

Payton Pritchard, PG, Boston Celtics (20.0%)

It's possible we see Holiday active after missing the past five games, but it's also likely that the team finds more playing time for Pritchard to be effective either way. With plenty of scorers around him and his own deft shooting touch, Pritchard should produce a nice blend of scoring and assists against the Pelicans.

Malik Beasley, SG, Milwaukee Bucks (12.2%)

Beasley is playing a big floor-spacing role for the Bucks as a shooting specialist Given the defensive caliber of his opponent, Beasley should see plenty of run against the Pelicans to help open driving lanes and space to operate for Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

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.

 Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks 7:30 p.m. State Farm Arena, Atlanta

BPI Projection: Celtics in the highest-scoring game of the slate.

Injury Report: Celtics: Al Horford, (GTD - Toe); Jaden Springer, (GTD - Knee); Jrue Holiday, (GTD - Shoulder); Xavier Tillman, (GTD - Knee) Hawks: Mouhamed Gueye, (GTD - Elbow); Onyeka Okongwu, (GTD - Toe); AJ Griffin, (OUT - Ankle); Jalen Johnson, (OUT - Ankle); Kobe Bufkin, (OUT - Toe); Trae Young, (OUT - Finger); Saddiq Bey, (OUT - Knee)

Celtics projections:

Jayson Tatum, SF/PF: 45.2 FPTS (27.0 pts, 6.7 reb, 4.8 ast, 3.2 3PM) Jaylen Brown, SG/SF: 39.0 FPTS (24.4 pts, 4.7 reb, 3.3 ast, 2.5 3PM) Kristaps Porzingis, PF/C: 28.9 FPTS (17.2 pts, 5.7 reb, 1.6 ast, 1.4 blk) Derrick White, PG/SG: 28.1 FPTS (12.2 pts, 3.7 reb, 5.2 ast, 1.9 3PM) Payton Pritchard, PG: 20.7 FPTS (9.3 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.9 ast) Sam Hauser, SF: 20.4 FPTS (10.1 pts, 3.6 reb, 1.1 ast, 2.8 3PM) Al Horford, PF/C: 19.0 FPTS (7.0 pts, 5.4 reb, 1.7 ast)

Hawks projections:

Dejounte Murray, PG/SG: 51.6 FPTS (24.8 pts, 5.5 reb, 7.4 ast, 2.6 3PM) Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF: 34.6 FPTS (18.5 pts, 3.9 reb, 3.4 ast, 3.3 3PM) De'Andre Hunter, SF/PF: 32.5 FPTS (20.5 pts, 3.8 reb, 1.9 ast, 2.3 3PM) Clint Capela, C: 30.0 FPTS (14.4 pts, 10.9 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.6 blk) Bruno Fernando, C: 22.3 FPTS (10.3 pts, 7.6 reb, 1.4 ast) Vit Krejci, PG: 19.3 FPTS (8.8 pts, 3.0 reb, 1.8 ast) Garrison Mathews, SG/SF: 10.0 FPTS (3.1 pts, 2.4 reb, 0.9 ast)

 Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans 8 p.m. Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

BPI Projection: Pelicans in the 2nd highest-scoring game of the slate.

Injury Report: Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo, (GTD - Hamstring); Khris Middleton, (GTD - Ankle); MarJon Beauchamp, (GTD - Back); Patrick Beverley, (GTD - Wrist) Pelicans: Jose Alvarado, (GTD - Hip); Dyson Daniels, (OUT - Knee); Brandon Ingram, (OUT - Knee)

Bucks projections:

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C: 50.2 FPTS (28.3 pts, 12.1 reb, 5.2 ast) Damian Lillard, PG: 45.2 FPTS (25.1 pts, 5.3 reb, 6.9 ast, 2.9 3PM) Khris Middleton, SF: 27.7 FPTS (13.1 pts, 4.6 reb, 4.3 ast) Bobby Portis, PF/C: 22.8 FPTS (10.7 pts, 7.4 reb, 0.9 ast) Brook Lopez, C: 22.0 FPTS (10.6 pts, 4.9 reb, 1.5 ast, 1.9 blk) Malik Beasley, SG: 17.7 FPTS (7.3 pts, 4.0 reb, 1.1 ast, 1.9 3PM) Patrick Beverley, PG: 13.8 FPTS (4.7 pts, 3.2 reb, 2.0 ast)

Pelicans projections:

CJ McCollum, PG/SG: 42.3 FPTS (23.2 pts, 4.4 reb, 5.2 ast, 3.3 3PM) Zion Williamson, PF: 41.8 FPTS (25.2 pts, 6.6 reb, 4.9 ast) Herbert Jones, SF/PF: 28.9 FPTS (13.6 pts, 4.3 reb, 2.8 ast) Trey Murphy III, SG/SF: 26.3 FPTS (12.2 pts, 4.8 reb, 1.7 ast, 3.0 3PM) Jonas Valanciunas, C: 23.2 FPTS (11.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 1.5 ast) Naji Marshall, SF: 20.3 FPTS (9.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.1 ast) Jose Alvarado, PG: 19.6 FPTS (9.5 pts, 2.6 reb, 2.7 ast)