NBA $20,000 THURSDAY: TIPS & SELECTIONS

 

NBA Thursday dishes up a giant 24 team slate with some intriguing games.

In the East, the top ranked Raptors host third ranked Indiana, while out West eighth placed Memphis travels to current fifth seed Portland.

Two of the NBA’s biggest stars collide when Giannis and the Bucks go against AD and the Pelicans, and it figures to be yet another monster night for James Harden up against a porous Washington defence.

There is $20,000 up for grabs in the Thursday jackpot tournament.

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Damian Lillard – PG – $16,400

Memphis may be one of the best defenses in the league, but Lillard is one of the best scorers and coming off a monster 39 point showing. Mike Conley is currently a game time decision, meaning Dame is either going to get a Conley that is a little underdone, or no Conley at all. Either way, it’s a good recipe for Lillard to feast on his home court. Lillard is averaging 27 a game, fourth best in the NBA and his three triples a game is the fifth most in the league.

Dennis Schroder – PG – $10,710

Attacking a Sacramento defense that is currently the third worst in the league, all eyes will be on Russell Westbrook to put up his customary astronomical numbers. Schroder, however, continues to prove he is capable of good lines himself, even with Westbrook in the fold. He’s coming off an 18 point performance in his last game, and while he did have a quiet couple of showings before that, he’s put up 18 or more in four of his past six games while also regularly chipping in 3-5 boards and assists and is good for at least one triple a game. He had a bit of a quiet night last time the Thunder played the Kings, so there’s a bit of revenge factor here for Schroder also.

Nemanja Bjelica – SF/PF – $9,550

On the flip side of this matchup, with Marvin Bagley still out of action, the big Serbian Bjelica remains a great option. We can gloss over his previous game where he was only able to play five minutes, in his three outings before that he had lines of 15 and 10, 18 and 3, 25 and 5. He put up four triples in each of those three games, he also averages two blocks across that three game stretch. He showed he was capable of these performances earlier in the year when given the minutes, and with Bagley out the limited Kings front court will continue to lean on him.

Lauri Markkanen – PF – $11,960

Markkanen continues to flash signs of the superstar he has the potential to blossom into, though putting it together consistently has been an issue in his return from elbow injury. He’s coming off a 23/7 performance against the Spurs and remains one of the NBA’s best threats from deep. With the Bulls pushing Jabari Parker out the door, and Wendell Carter Jr continuing to deal with foul trouble, all the makings are there for the Bulls to continue to lean on Markkanen heavily with a limited big man rotation. Brooklyn’s defense is among the bottom third of the NBA which should present a lot of opportunities for the Finnish sniper.

Rodney Hood – SG/SF – $7,510

With the Cavaliers usage machine Jordan Clarkson out of action someone needs to pick up the pieces and be the volume scorer for a team going nowhere. Enter Rodney Hood, who is a proven scorer when given the minutes and should only benefit from more ball being tossed his way. He’s put up double digits in three straight, with scores of 13, 19 and 23, and he’s also likely for a few boards, assists and a couple of triples a night. Charlotte aren’t a walkover defensively, but they aren’t good either.

Enter the NBA $20,000 Thursday tournament.

NBA SCORING SYSTEM

Point Scored = 1 point

Missed Field Goal = -0.25 points

Missed Free Throw = -0.25 points

Assist = 1.5 points

Rebound = 1.25 points

Turnover = -0.5 points

Steal = 2 points

Block = 2 points

3 Point Made Bonus = 1 point

Double-Double = 2 points

Triple-Double = 2 points

By NBA