There are five games on Thursday night's NBA schedule, and four of the 10 teams have made recent trades that affect their rosters.
The Knicks-Raptors swap is now several weeks old, with the Wizards expected to see Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers suit up for the first time.
The Pacers will have to wait one more game for Pascal Siakam to make his debut, and the player the Raptors received in his place is not expected to be available either.
Let's take a look at some of the top PriorityPicks predictions to target for this five-game slate.
De’Aaron Fox (Kings vs. Pacers) 28.5 points or more
Fox had a sluggish start to the new year, averaging just 19.7 points per game through the first seven games of 2024, but bounced back this week with a 32-point performance against the Bucks and a 33-point performance against the Suns. . .
Fox has been the Kings' leading scorer this season, averaging 28.0 points per game on a 31.9 percent usage rate.
He will play Thursday against a Pacers team that plays at the league's second-fastest pace and has the fourth-worst defensive rating.
On top of that, Indiana traded their best perimeter defender (Bruce Brown) to the Raptors.
The Pacers should have a hard time slowing down Fox, who has a strong chance of reaching 30 points for the third consecutive season.
Nikola Vucevic (Bulls vs. Raptors) 11.0 rebounds or more
Vucevic has averaged over 11.0 rebounds per game over the past four seasons and is currently averaging 10.4 rebounds per game.
Despite a slight dip on the glass, he grabbed at least 11 rebounds in 15 of the 35 games he played.
Vucevic is particularly well-positioned to pick up rebounds against the Raptors, who rank 18th in rebounding and continue to play without their best rebounder, Jakob Poeltl.
In the five games without Poeltl, the Raptors have fallen to 24th in rebounding percentage.
In addition to Poeltl still being sidelined, Toronto will of course be without Siakam and the frontcourt will be short-handed.
Vucevic will only have to compete with the likes of Jontay Porter and Thaddeus Young for boards.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder vs. Jazz) 31.5+
SGA is one of the league's leading scorers, averaging 31.0 points per game.
They scuffled a bit this week in losses to both Los Angeles teams, but they have scored at least 32 points in 23 of the 39 games they have played this season.
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Gilgeous-Alexander is in good position to get back on the track Thursday at Utah State. The Jazz play at the 10th-fastest pace in the league and rank just 19th in defensive rating.
In their previous matchup with the Jazz this season, SGA dropped 30 points in just 27 minutes.
Assuming he's logging around his season average of 34.5 minutes, he should be able to beat his expected points.
