ESPN's basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you lock in daily fantasy and betting decisions for that night's games. Here you'll find our top insights for the slate, including players to target for your daily fantasy rosters, along with game-by-game injury reports.
What you need to know for Thursday
Game 6 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder arrives with San Antonio facing elimination for the first time in the Victor Wembanyama era. Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference finals, 3-2, after taking Game 5, but this series has already swung back and forth enough to make a Game 7 feel very possible.
The focus for the Spurs starts with Wembanyama, who was held to a series-low 20 points on just 15 shots in Game 5. The Spurs need him to be more aggressive, especially against a Thunder defense that has kept bodies on him and made life difficult around the rim.
Oklahoma City is one win from the Finals, and the Thunder have enough depth to make life difficult for San Antonio one more time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had to work for everything against the Spurs' pressure, shooting just 38.3% from the field in the series, but he still found a way to score 32 points in Game 5. San Antonio returns home with its season on the line, giving Game 6 the urgency of a true win-or-go-home test.
Let's dig further into the matchup to identify some betting angles and DFS value picks for tonight's action.
Moody's bets for Thursday
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 9+ assists (+118): Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 15.4 potential assists and 8.2 assists per game so far in the playoffs. He's been even better as a facilitator in this series, averaging 9.8 APG. SGA has cleared this mark in four of his past five games while playing 38.8 minutes per game.
Dylan Harper 5+ rebounds (+163): Harper has grabbed at least five rebounds in three of five games this series while averaging 9.2 rebound chances and 26.7 minutes per game. He has also cleared this mark in 12 of 18 games this season when playing at least 26 minutes. Even with De'Aaron Fox in the lineup, Harper has shown he can stay active on the glass.
Top Daily Fantasy Values of the Day
$8,100+ salaries
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG, Thunder ($12,400): The adjustments the Thunder's coaching staff made in Game 5 better positioned Gilgeous-Alexander against a ferocious Spurs defense. The MVP responded with 52 fantasy points after scoring a series-low 36.5 in Game 4. Outside of that performance, SGA has scored at least 50 fantasy points in every other game this series. He contributes in every statistical category and has a 30.7% usage rate in the series. SGA is also a strong captain option.
$6,100-$8,000 salaries
Stephon Castle, SG, Spurs ($8,600): Castle averages 38.5 fantasy points per game so far in this series. With the Spurs' season on the line, his grit on both ends of the court will be critical against the Thunder. Castle also averages 35.8 minutes per game in this series while carrying a 23.8% usage rate.
$1,500-$5,900 Salaries
Isaiah Hartenstein, C, Thunder ($5,800): Hartenstein finished Game 5 with series highs in fantasy points (38.8) and minutes played (31). He contributes points, rebounds and a few assists, giving DFS players a decent floor. Hartenstein should continue to see steady minutes as the Thunder rely on him to help slow down Wembanyama.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
8:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
Line: Thunder +3.5 (-110) | Spurs -3.5 (-110)
Money line: Thunder +130 | Spurs -155
Total: 218.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Spurs by 1.2, straight up 54%, 220.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Jalen Williams, (GTD - Hamstring); Ajay Mitchell, (OUT - Calf); Thomas Sorber, (OFS - Knee)
Spurs: David Jones Garcia, (OFS - Ankle)
