Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, April 10th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-04-10 18:23:18 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. So, who better to walk you through the madness of NBA DFS slates on DraftKings and FanDuel? Core Plays LIVE will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best plays, and constantly update as news breaks. Whether you are diving into the slate 5 hours before it starts or 5 minutes before it starts, you’ve come to the right place.

Happy Friday!

Every single team in the association is playing tonight, so we don’t have much time to waste on the introduction.

I’ll do my best to cover each team’s motivations, as it’s critical to know where each team stands heading into the final couple of games of the season.

As far as the slate size, there are 9 games on the DraftKings main slate and 12 games on the FanDuel main slate. For today’s article, I am only going to focus on the plays that I think are viable, rather than covering all of the key players from each team.

Cheers to the weekend. Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, April 10th

Slate Overview

• Slate size – DraftKings: 9 games, FanDuel: 12 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Washington Wizards
  - 7:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Chicago Bulls
  - 9:00 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets (not on DK slate)
  - 9:30 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets (not on DK slate)
  - 9:30 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz (not on DK slate)
  - 10:00 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings (not on main slate)
  - 10:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers (not on main slate)
  - 10:30 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers (not on main slate)
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:30 PM ET

Jayson Tatum is out, Jaylen Brown is questionable, and Derrick White is probable for the Celtics. Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser are also expected to play.

Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, and Norman Powell are all questionable for the Heat. Dru Smith is out.

Drake Powell, Ziaire Williams, Noah Clowney, Nic Claxton, Terance Mann, and Josh Minnott are out for the Nets.

Tre Johnson and Justin Champagnie are out for the Wizards. Anthony Gill will play.

Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson are out for the Knicks.

Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles are out for the Raptors.

Team Previews

Miami Heat (at WAS)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Heat, who are currently 10th in the East. They are 2 games behind the Hornets and Sixers with 2 games to play. However, they have the tiebreaker over both teams, so they should go all-out to win tonight’s game. This is an elite matchup against the Wizards, who are 29th in points allowed per game. Miami’s team total is 12 points higher than their season average. This is a back-to-back, so we are still waiting on their injury report. However, Nikola Jovic is out, and Norman Powell is a candidate to get the night off.

If we assume the Heat are trying to win (they might as well), Bam Adebayo makes a lot of sense. Centers have been dominant against the Wizards this season, and this is the matchup where Adebayo scored 83 points last month. Jaime Jaquez projects as a solid mid-range option, as we have him projected to play 29 minutes. His range of outcomes is wide, but that makes him a strong tournament play.

Washington Wizards (vs. MIA)

The Wizards have had very little motivation to win basketball games in the second half of the season. While not ideal, at least their motivation hasn’t changed recently. They draw a pace-up matchup against the Heat, who are 22nd in points allowed per game this season. Washington’s team total is 2 points higher than their season average. This is a back-to-back, so we are still waiting on their injury report. Cam Whitmore, D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George, Trae Young, and Alex Sarr are all out. We’ll have to take a wait-and-see approach with the rest of the roster.

If Tristan Vukcevic is out again, Julian Reese will become a strong option in all formats. Over the last 3 games, he has averaged 39 minutes and 43 fantasy points. It’s not a great individual matchup, but I love how many minutes the Wizards have been giving him. He’s the only player on my radar from Washington, and he’s only viable if Vuk is out again.

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