Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, May 15th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-05-15 17:33:57 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. 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!

I wasn’t expecting to have any more 2-game slates the rest of the season, but the NBA decided to give the Spurs and Wolves an extra day of rest. We have two Game 6s on tap tonight and two potential Game 7s on Sunday (if the Pistons and Wolves both win tonight). I don’t know about you, but I am happy to be here. The Showdown slates are fun, but there is something about a classic slate that I find so much more enjoyable.

If you are invested in the PGA Championship, good luck with the cut sweat today. I could certainly use some decent rounds from a few golfers.

If this is the last Core Plays article of the season, thanks for joining me for the ride. If we have one more on Sunday, Taylor Smith will have you covered.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, May 15th

Slate Overview

• 2-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 9:30 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

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

Team Previews

Detroit Pistons (at CLE)

The Pistons were up 9 points at home with a few minutes left in Game 5. I hate to play Monday morning quarterback here, but I don’t see how J.B. Bickerstaff doesn’t call a timeout at any point during the 9-0 run the Cavaliers went on. I understand trusting your players, but the Eastern Conference Finals are on the line, and your team clearly didn’t have the momentum. I’m not even a Pistons fan, and I’m frustrated by the decision. Anyway, they now face elimination on the road against a team that hasn’t lost at home all postseason. The Pistons have a team total that is 15 points lower than their season average.

Kevin Huerter, Caris LeVert, and Duncan Robinson are all questionable for tonight’s game. With Robinson out in Game 5, Daniss Jenkins drew the start and played 41 minutes and scored 33 fantasy points. He becomes a core play if Robinson is out again. If Robinson is active, I actually like the idea of fading Jenkins. He has averaged less than 10 fantasy points per game on the road in the playoffs. Robinson has topped 28 fantasy points in 4 of the last 5 games, so he’ll become a strong option if active. LeVert did have one nice game earlier in the series, but he’s not a priority for me this evening. Cade Cunningham will need to take over if the Pistons want to force a Game 7. He’s coming off of his best game of the series (65 fantasy points) and should push for minutes in the mid-40s.

Ausar Thompson will have stretches during a game where he’s dominant, but then he’ll disappear for quarters at a time. He has yet to score more than 35 fantasy points in this series, which is a concern heading into Game 6. However, he has a clear path to minutes in the high-30s. Tobias Harris is the safer option of the two, as he’s been rock-solid all postseason. He has scored over 35 fantasy points in 3 of the 5 games in this series. Jalen Duren has been held under 24 fantasy points in each of the last 4 games. The Pistons closed Game 5 with Paul Reed, which shows how little they trust Duren at this point. Reed is the more appealing option in DFS, as he’s scored 25 fantasy points in back-to-back games.

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