Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, March 9th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-03-09 21:51:57 Premium Content Part of the product NBA DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. He has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career and has long been one of the top NBA DFS minds in the industry. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. Their Core Plays LIVE article will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best NBA DFS picks, and constantly update as news breaks. Whether you are diving into the slate 5 hours before it starts or 5 minutes before it starts, Core Plays LIVE has everything you need for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Happy Sunday! I was enjoying a fine lunch at In-N-Out yesterday afternoon – as any proper Californian should every now and again – and overheard a bunch of kids (maybe 10 years old?) arguing about whom they’d take all-time between Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. I was initially impressed that they knew who those guys were until one of them just interjected with, “I mean, I’d probably go with Naz Reid over them because of his shot.”

Look, I know we’re a declining superpower and all that, but I didn’t realize we were already in such an advanced stage of being completely cooked. I say this as a Naz Reid apologist.

Anyway, apropos of nothing, I’m pretty convinced prime Larry Bird would get destroyed in a game of 1-on-1 by Amir Coffey.

On to the slate! I’ll be on Crunch Time tonight before lock, so tune in for final #takes before the slate tips off at 7 PM ET. Also, check your clock.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, March 9th

• 6-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 7:30 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 8:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 9:00 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Portland Trail Blazers
  - 9:30 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Denver, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah, San Antonio, Portland, Sacramento
• Back end of a back-to-back: Pelicans, Bucks, Pistons
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

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News Updates

Here’s where I’ll provide any news updates.

Team Previews

Memphis Grizzlies (at NOP)

The Grizzlies toppled the scufflin’ Mavs on Friday night, and tonight they’ll head to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans, as they play without Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama, and Luke Kennard (listed doubtful). Ja Morant (37.9%) and Desmond Bane (26.3%) both take on significant usage with JJJ out of the lineup, while the absence of both Jackson and Aldama means another potential start for Vince Williams Jr. Williams played about 25 minutes in his start last week, while GG Jackson (19) and Marvin Bagley (14) both got burn off the bench. The matchup for Memphis is outstanding, so there are quite a few viable plays here. Williams and Jackson are both solid, but the best value of the bunch is probably Brandon Clarke, who has played 26 minutes off the bench in consecutive games. Clarke may be a core play candidate on DraftKings ($4,100).

Morant is a better value on FanDuel ($8,400) than DraftKings ($8,500), while I’m still fine with paying north of $8,000 for Bane given his lofty ceiling. I’d consider a max-1 rule for Clarke and Zach Edey considering they rarely share the floor, while Kennard’s absence could clear some extra minutes for Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jaylen Wells. I don’t think you’re crazy to get to as many as 4 Grizzlies in a lineup tonight, but a max of 3 is probably the sweet spot for GPPs.

New Orleans Pelicans (vs. MEM)

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