Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, April 16th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-04-16 21:56:51 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 Wednesday!

Last night’s first game was a bit of a dud, but the second game was tremendous. The Magic quickly took care of business against the Hawks, while it took all of 75 combined points from Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry for the Warriors to stave off the Grizzlies. Congrats to the Magic and Warriors for claiming the 7th seeds in their respective conferences. The Hawks will host the winner of tonight’s 9/10 game in the East, and the Grizzlies will host the winner of tonight’s 9/10 game in the West.

As for tonight’s games, we could have two good ones in store. The Bulls host the Heat, and the Kings host the Mavericks.

How great is it to have playoff basketball back? Let’s dive into the games.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, April 16th

• 2-game main slate
  - 7:30 PM ET – Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls
  - 10:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Sacramento Kings
• Front end of a back-to-back: N/A
• Back end of a back-to-back: N/A
• 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

Miami Heat (at CHI)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Heat, who have had a down season by their standards. They traded away their superstar and now need to win 2 games just to get into the NBA Playoffs. They draw the best matchup on the slate, as the Bulls are 2nd in pace and 28th in points allowed per game. This game is essentially set as a pick ‘em, and the Heat have a team total that is 2 points lower than their season average. Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, and Kevin Love are listed as questionable.

While we have to love the matchup for the Heat, they are priced at a premium on DraftKings. If you are looking at RGValues in LineupHQ, the Heat project a lot better on FanDuel than they do on DraftKings. Tyler Herro has averaged 42 fantasy points in games without Jimmy Butler this season and has topped 48 fantasy points in 3 of his last 10 games. He’s best suited as a tournament play. Andrew Wiggins has a positive RGValue on both sites. He offers a high floor and should be one of the highest-owned players on the slate.

Davion Mitchell doesn’t have the highest FP/min or usage rates, but he has quietly topped 30 fantasy points in 5 of his last 7 games. He’s priced under $6,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Duncan Robinson and Alec Burks are both strong lineup fillers on DraftKings, given their sub-$4,000 price points. Kel’el Ware should fly under the radar and could easily find his way into minutes in the low 30s if he’s playing well. He makes for a strong tournament option. Bam Adebayo has a strong track record in the playoffs, an exploitable matchup, and solid play coming into tonight’s game. He has topped 48 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games.

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