NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Saturday, December 30th
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 takes the reins. 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.
The NBA is keeping things light on this last Saturday of 2023 with just 4 games on the main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ve got a game at 7 PM ET, 2 more at 8, and 1 final game tipping off at 8:30. Even on a short slate, we’ve got plenty of noteworthy injury situations to monitor, however, with the likes of Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Lakers’ stars all carrying questionable tags into the weekend.
As always, stay tuned throughout the day for injury updates heading into lock.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, December 30th
Slate Overview
- 4-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
- 8:00 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls
- 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves
- 8:30 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Lakers
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Raptors, Knicks, Sixers
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
Here’s where I’ll provide updates throughout the day.
Team Previews
New York Knicks (at IND): The Knicks draw one of the best matchups on the board tonight against those high-octane, no-defense Pacers. Indiana is 28th in defense and 1st in pace, which helps to explain why the Knicks’ 121 implied team total is nearly 6 points north of their season average. Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are both up in the $9,000 range on both sites, but they’re certainly not overpriced for such an elite spot. Immanuel Quickley, Isaiah Hartenstein, and RJ Barrett are reasonable values at their respective positions, while it’s worth noting Josh Hart has topped 30 minutes in 4 of his last 5 games.
Indiana Pacers (vs. NYK): Indiana’s 124.5 implied team total is the highest of the 8 teams in action tonight, and they’re listed as 3.5-point home favorites over the Knicks. Tyrese Haliburton (1.6 FP/minute) endured a post-IST slump, but he’s bounced back in a big way over the last few games. New York’s defense has cratered without Mitchell Robinson, and $9,900 on DraftKings is the cheapest salary we’ve seen on Hali since November 8. Jalen Smith ($4,900 DK, $4,600 FD) will continue to pop as a value as long as he’s still starting, and his newfound PF eligibility on DK comes in handy. You can make a case for all of Aaron Nesmith, Myles Turner, Bennedict Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard as GPP values with Bruce Brown missing from the lineup.
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