Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, November 24th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-11-24 23:12:02 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 an NBA DFS slate? 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 Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I was so close to a massive NFL slate, but I had to settle for a triple-up week thanks to a zero from Jameson Williams. With no more PGA TOUR events for the rest of the year, I’ll be on Core Plays duty every weekday (including Mondays) for the rest of the season.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving week is already here. It’s a slightly different week for the sports calendar. On the NBA front, we have a big slate tonight, a small slate tomorrow, and a big slate on Wednesday. There aren’t any NBA games on Thursday, as it’s everyone’s favorite NFL slate. On Friday, we get a huge NBA slate and a rare NFL game. There’s a lot to look forward to this week, and we’ll have content for all of the NBA and NFL slates.

For tonight, the slate size differs by site. FanDuel has all 10 games included on their main slate, while DraftKings only has the first 7 games on their main slate. Let’s get off to a hot start this week. It would be great to have some extra funds for all of the Black Friday sales this weekend.

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

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, November 24th

Slate Overview

• Slate size – FanDuel: 10 games, DraftKings: 7 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors
  - 7:30 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat
  - 7:30 pm ET – New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 9:30 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings
  - 10:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:40 PM ET

We have some early injury news today, which is always nice. RJ Barrett has officially been ruled out for the Raptors.

Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic, and Norman Powell have all been ruled out for the Heat. This opens up some strong plays on the wing.

De’Andre Hunter, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, Craig Porter, and Darius Garland have all been ruled out for the Cavaliers. This makes Cleveland much more intriguing.

Nikola Vucevic is now questionable for the Bulls. If he’s out, Jalen Smith becomes a Core Play.

Team Previews

Detroit Pistons (at IND)

We kick off the slate with the Pistons, who have one of the best matchups on the board. The Pacers are 9th in pace and 26th in points allowed per game, which is why Detroit’s team total is 3 points higher than their season average. All of their key players should be available.

Cade Cunningham is always a strong option in DFS, as he offers a solid floor and a high ceiling. He has scored at least 52 fantasy points in 9 of his last 10 games. Jaden Ivey will be making his 3rd start of the season, but we only have him projected to play 20 minutes. He can be avoided for the time being. With Ivey back, I don’t feel great about the other wings on the Pistons (Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson, and Tobias Harris). Jalen Duren is playing some of his best basketball of the season, topping 43 fantasy points in 6 of his last 7 games. He has a nice rebounding matchup against the Pacers.

Indiana Pacers (vs. DET)

The Pacers are playing at home, but they are 10-point underdogs against the Pistons, who are top 5 in both points allowed per game and defensive rating. The Pacers have a team total that is 2 points higher than their season average, but it’s still one of the lowest on the slate. Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Quenton Jackson, and Obi Toppin are all out.

With a low team total on a large slate, I’m not prioritizing the Pacers in cash games and small-field tournaments. With that said, there are a couple of intriguing large-field tournament targets. Bennedict Mathurin has averaged 1.20 DK / 1.14 FD points per minute and is no longer on a minute restriction. Andrew Nembhard is coming off one of his best games of the season (50 fantasy points vs. CLE) and has topped 34 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games.

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