Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, March 6th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-03-06 23:34:21 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 Thursday!

My girlfriend (it sounds so strange calling her my girlfriend) has a test for gestational diabetes today. She can’t eat any sugar throughout the day and has to drink a glucose drink exactly one hour before the test. I didn’t want to leave her hanging, so I grabbed (stole…shhh) an extra bottle of glucose as we were leaving the doctor’s office at our last appointment. I figure if she has to drink it, I might as well join her. We are officially 12 weeks away from our due date!

If you aren’t here for random notes about our pregnancy, let’s talk about tonight’s NBA slate. There are only 6 games on the schedule, which is the perfect amount in my eyes. All 6 games are included on both the FanDuel and DraftKings main slates. Only 2 teams are playing on the front or back half of a back-to-back, so we shouldn’t have a ton of injury news (fingers crossed).

I won’t be on Crunch Time today, but I will be back on the live stream tomorrow. Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, March 6th

• 6-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic
  - 7:30 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
  - 7:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 10:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Knicks
• Back end of a back-to-back: Celtics
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Chicago Bulls (at ORL)

We kick the slate off with the Bulls, who draw a brutal matchup on the road against the Magic. They come into the game as 7.5-point underdogs and have a team total that is 11 points lower than their season average. Ayo Dosunmu is out, Nikola Vucevic is doubtful, and 4 players are questionable – Lonzo Ball, Josh Giddey, Kevin Huerter, and Patrick Williams.

Even if all of those questionable players are active, this game has blowout potential. As it stands right now with those 4 players in the projections, nobody has a positive RGValue. However, if Ball, Giddey, and Huerter are out again, Tre Jones would become interesting, Coby White would make sense in tournaments, and Matas Buzelis would see a boost in usage.

Orlando Magic (vs. CHI)

The Magic have one of the best matchups on the slate, as the Bulls are 3rd in pace and 29th in points allowed per game. They come into the game with a team total that is 9 points higher than their season average. Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner are still out, while Cole Anthony is listed as questionable.

Paolo Banchero was my saving grace on Tuesday. He put up 74 fantasy points against the Raptors. I don’t mind going right back to the well. Franz Wagner is also viable in all formats, but I would only look to target both of these superstars if Anthony ends up being out. Wendell Carter is capable of scoring 30+ fantasy points at a cheap price point.

Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers

Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!