Remember the last day of school before summer vacation? How it wasn’t really school, but just pure madness? That’s sort of the vibe I’m getting from tonight’s five-game NBA slate.
Every team is on the second leg of a back-to-back set. Every player wants to get to the All-Star break.
It’s going to get weird. Let’s try and find some DFS assets that won’t let you down.
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PG James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz, $9,200
While we’ve yet to see an IR for this contest, I think we can safely assume that Kawhi Leonard (rest) isn’t going to play on the second night of the Clippers’ back-to-back. Not only do we have a report that he won’t from The Athletic’s Law Murphy, but the man literally invented load management. It’s what he does. As you might expect, Harden carries a pretty large portion of Los Angeles’ offense when Leonard is off the court, as the former MVP owns a 31.9% usage rate in the oft-seen scenario this season. Harden also averages 1.35 FPTS per minute with his teammate in street clothes. That level of success should continue on Thursday, as the Clippers will be opposed by a Jazz squad that haven’t be able to stop anyone throughout 2024-25. Utah comes into this tilt in possession of the third-worst defensive rating in the NBA (118.4). Specific to Harden, the Jazz are surrendering the most FPTS per game to opposing points guards. Woof.
SG/SF Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans vs. Sacramento Kings, $8,200
Murphy has emerged as a new star in New Orleans, averaging a career-best 22.5 points per game for the Pelicans so far this season. However, the sharpshooter has really taken things to another level since the beginning of 2025. In his last 18 starts, Murphy is producing 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. It’s a span where the former first-round pick has exceeded 40 FPTS on 12 occasions, including six of his most recent seven contests. Needless to say, I’m anticipating another huge performance on Thursday. This matchup between New Orleans and Sacramento sports by far the highest implied total of any game on tonight’s slate and, on top of that, Murphy should have some extra opportunities with Zion Williamson all but sure to be resting on a back-to-back. Dating back to January 1, Murphy has registered a 27.8% usage with Williamson off the court. That figure falls to just 18.0% when the duo are sharing the floor.
SG/SF Max Christie, Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat, $5,200
Are we going to be calling it “the Max Christie trade” in a couple years? No. Never. Still, Christie has been a nice silver-lining for Mavericks fans since coming over at the deadline in the package for Luka Doncic. In fact, Christie’s eclipsed 30 FPTS in all five of his games in a Dallas uniform, averaging 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds within that span. However, with injuries pilling up for the Mavericks, things went to a whole new level on Wednesday for the former second-round pick. In a gutsy 111-107 victory over the Warriors, Christie drew the start and logged an eye-popping 39.2 minutes. He’ll likely need to re-create that effort on Thursday, as Dallas’ rotation remains depleted in this matchup with the Heat. Olivier-Maxence Prosper ($4,800) is another name to keep tabs on if he garners one more emergency start.
