Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, April 5th
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 Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. On weekends, Taylor Smith will guide you through those NBA streets. So, who better to walk you through the madness of an NBA DFS slate? Core Plays LIVE 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, you’ve come to the right place.
You made it, it’s Friday. We’ve got all sorts of action this weekend between the NBA, MLB, and the Final Four. There’s probably also MMA, golf, and NASCAR going on, but we only acknowledge real sports here in Core Plays Country. Anyway, we’ve got a whopper of a 10-game NBA slate to deal with tonight, so there’s no time for messing around and picking fights with fans of fringe sports.
A 10-game slate at this late stage of the NBA season likely means we’re in store for some shenanigans. Several teams in action tonight also played on last night’s slate, and the injury report is already crowded with big names. Should be fun! There are actually 12 games on the NBA schedule tonight, but DraftKings and FanDuel have decided to leave off the late-night MIN/PHX and UTA/LAC games. I’ll be here throughout the day to provide updates, but here’s how things are looking as of this morning.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, April 5th
Slate Overview
- 10-game slate
- 6:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets
- 6:00 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers
- 6:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Washington Wizards
- 6:30 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics
- 7:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
- 7:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls
- 7:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Houston Rockets
- 7:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks
- 7:00 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Memphis Grizzlies
- 7:30 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Pistons, Grizzlies
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Heat, Kings, Knicks, Mavs, Warriors, Rockets
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.
Team Previews
Orlando Magic (at CHA): The Magic are home-free as far as qualifying for the playoffs is concerned, and they’re sizable 12-point favorites tonight in Charlotte over the lowly, battered Hornets. Orlando is also completely healthy for this game, so there isn’t much to see here. Want to take a flier on Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner in a good matchup? Be my guest. I really don’t see much of a need to prioritize anybody here, especially if we’re still going to be waiting on some news elsewhere when the first games lock.
Charlotte Hornets (vs. ORL): The Hornets are doing their best to tank the rest of their season away. Nick Richards is questionable tonight, while Miles Bridges and Vasilije Micic are likely to return after sitting out on Wednesday. Mark Williams, LaMelo Ball, Seth Curry, and Cody Martin remain out. This matchup is an awful one, and Charlotte has a painfully low 96.75 implied team total. Is this 1995? Bridges and Brandon Miller can crack your player pool if you’re entering a 150-lineup set, but otherwise, I’ll be steering clear of this disaster.
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