Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, December 6th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-12-06 23:31:49 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. International pop music icon Taylor Smith takes over on weekends. 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.

It’s Saturday, so congrats on making it to the weekend. As is custom, I start the day by opening up my Gmail, marking approximately 49 unread emails as read, and move on to the next thing. I’ll occasionally read the Nextdoor emails, though, if I’m looking for a good time. Here are a few of today’s headlines from my neck of the woods:

• 3-foot garden statue for sale ($200)
• I was banned from using my community facilities permanently for something my son did when I wasn’t even there
• Orange liquid coming from HVAC system in the attic – Help!
• Local gang of teens on e-bikes caught on Ring doorbell
• Need a local computer guy to come to my home. I cannot attach. A folder to send to email.

What a time to be alive. Everyone’s internal monologue is just out there in the open for all to read. I hope that person figures out what’s oozing from their HVAC – sounds like nasty business.

Anyway, this is a basketball article. We’re looking at a tidy 6-game slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight, so the sites are actually aligned. A bunch of teams are playing the second halves of back-to-backs, so there could be plenty of moving and shaking before lock. As always, I’ll be here throughout the day providing updates and breaking it all down.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, December 6th

Slate Overview

• Slate size – 6 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
  - 7:30 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:30 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 8:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:30 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.

Team Previews

Atlanta Hawks (at WAS)

The Hawks lost a tight one at home to Denver last night, and tonight they’ll take out their frustrations on the lowly Wizards in DC. Atlanta is a 9.5-point road favorite here, and we’ll see if any unexpected injury news pops up. We’re expecting Kristaps Porzingis to join Trae Young on the sidelines for this one, while Jacob Toppin is the only other absence as of now. This is also the Hawks’ 3rd game in 4 nights.

Jalen Johnson sure looks like a superstar. He posted a first-half triple-double against Denver last night, and he’s in an even more favorable matchup this evening. Johnson is up to 1.57 DK FP/minute with Young and Porzingis off the floor, and he’s routinely pushing 40 minutes a game. It’s worth noting he missed Atlanta’s game a few nights ago with a calf injury before playing through a Q tag last night, so there’s a chance he gets this game off. For now, I’ll write this as though Johnson is available. If he is, he’s quite clearly a smash play and one of the top overall choices on the board.

Onyeka Okongwu should rejoin the starting unit assuming Porzingis sits out. Okongwu (1.09 FP/minute) has been excellent in that starting role, and Washington has been destroyed by opposing centers for several years now. The $8,000 salary is full on DK, though $7,600 with PF/C eligibility is easier to justify on FD. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (26.2%) is generating much more usage than Dyson Daniels (17.5%), who relies more on ancillary stats. They project similarly, though I think NAW offers a higher ceiling at this point. Both players get sizable upgrades if Johnson is out, obviously. The matchup is good enough to make guys like Vit Krejci and Zaccharie Risacher viable; they just both have thin paths to success.

Washington Wizards (vs. ATL)

The Wizards had last night off after a lopsided loss to Boston on Thursday. This team is dealing with a host of injuries, though their 112.5 implied team total isn’t atrocious or anything. Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, and Corey Kispert are out, while Khris Middleton, Tristan Vukcevic, and Cam Whitmore are questionable.

Atlanta is pretty middle of the pack defensively, so there’s some potential value here. Jamir Watkins played 18 minutes in a surprise start in place of Bilal in the last game, though Will RIley (26) and Bub Carrington (27) played more off the bench. None of these guys are great per-minute producers, though I think Riley would be cheap enough to consider as a punt if guys like Middleton and/or Whitmore are out. Without Sarr, most of the usage will flow through CJ McCollum (28.4%) and, to a lesser extent, Kyshawn George (21%). Both players have shown occasional ceilings, though George’s has been more reliable.

Marvin Bagley (1.1 FP/minute) will continue to start in place of Sarr, and his minutes could really solidify if Vukcevic can’t play. Okongwu is not an imposing defender, so I’m into Bagley at $5,200 on both sites in any scenario. If Middleton is out, guys like Whitmore and Justin Champagnie should have cleaner paths to playing time. Champagnie is generally the safer choice, especially if he starts.

Milwaukee Bucks (at DET)

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