There are six games on the NBA schedule for Thursday night, including a marquee interconference matchup in Boston.
A showdown between a pair of championship hopefuls kicks off the night, as the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics host the Phoenix Suns, who are tied with the Kings for the No. 6 seed in the West.
There are a couple of other intriguing matchups to analyze as well, as we dive into the PrizePicks board.
Let’s take a look at some of my favorite projections to target for Thursday.
NBA PrizePicks targets for Thursday
Jalen Green (Rockets vs. Wizards) more than 23.5 points
The Rockets are dealing with a couple of significant injuries. Center Alperen Sengun (knee, ankle) is likely lost for the season, and rookie Cam Whitmore (knee) will be down for at least a couple weeks.
Per RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Green is the biggest beneficiary with Sengun and Whitmore off the court this season. Green has posted a 36.7% usage rate (+9.1%) and has averaged 26.4 points per 36 minutes in that situation.
The Rockets squeaked out a two-point victory on Tuesday over the Spurs, their first game since the Sengun and Whitmore injuries.
Green struggled in that game and shot just 5-of-16 (31%) from the field to finish with 16 points.
He is a 41% shooter on the season, and we expect his future performance to align more closely with that field goal percentage.
In addition to a potential boost in shot volume, Green gets a tremendous matchup with the Wizards, who play at the fastest pace in the league and rank last in defensive rating.
The Wizards allow 123.7 points per game, the most in the league by a 2.3-point margin.
Deni Avdija (Wizards vs. Rockets) more than 15.5 points
Washington moved struggling guard Jordan Poole to the bench a month ago, and all parties seem to have benefited from the lineup change.
Avdija has seen an increase in production since Poole’s move to the bench. He has played in seven games with the new lineup, increasing his scoring average to 15.6 points per game. Avdija has scored at least 16 points in four of his last five games.
The matchup looks to be a difficult one on paper, as the Rockets rank seventh in defensive efficiency. However, they will be without at least three rotation players – Sengun, Whitmore and Tari Eason.
Avdija has averaged 35.2 minutes per game in the seven games since the lineup change, and RotoGrinders currently has him projected to play 36 minutes against Houston.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder vs. Mavericks) more than 30.5 points
Oklahoma City hosts Dallas, which will be without MVP candidate Luka Doncic (hamstring).
The Thunder have an MVP candidate of their own in SGA. The guard has averaged 31.1 points per game this season on a career-best 54.4 field goal percentage. He has topped 30.5 points in eight of his last 13 games, and he finished with exactly 30 points in two other games.
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The Mavs’ defense has fallen off considerably in the second half of the season. They rank just 28th in defensive efficiency since the All-Star break, and they have allowed the fifth-most points per game in the league in that time frame.
Look for Gilgeous-Alexander to continue his MVP bid with another strong performance.