Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, May 9th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2026-05-09 18:21:00 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. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes over. 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.

Hello, and May the 9th be with you. We’re back with more NBA playoff action today as the semifinal rounds in both conferences roll along. The Pistons and Thunder can both take commanding 3-0 series leads with wins. The Cavs and Lakers are both on the ropes after dropping the first 2 games of their respective series, and both are in close to must-win situations today.

Will either team fight back? Or are we looking at a couple of potential sweeps? There’s money to be made in the NBA DFS streets regardless, and we might as well be the ones making it. I should also note I’ll appear on NBA GrindersLive with TJ and Will an hour before the first game to break it all down.

Let’s dive in.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, May 9th

Slate Overview

• 2-game main slate
  - 3:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 8:30 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers
• 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 as they come in.

Team Previews

Detroit Pistons (at CLE)

We’ll start with the Pistons, who suddenly look like a No. 1 seed after struggling to get past the middling Magic in the 1st round. Detroit is actually a 4.5-point underdog in today’s Game 3, and their 103.5 implied team total is the 2nd-lowest total of the 4 teams in action. Kevin Huerter is doubtful with the adductor injury that’s kept him sidelined in recent games, but they’re otherwise healthy.

Whether to pay all the way up for Cade Cunningham is one of the biggest decisions on the slate. He’s been decent through the first 2 games, but he hasn’t put up scores you can’t live without to win tournaments either. Cade (1.43 FP/minute) is the most expensive player on the slate, and it’s safe to assume he’ll pull healthy ownership regardless. I’d get some exposure to Cunningham in a multi-entry setting, though I’d likely be underweight his ownership. In single entry, there’s merit to fading Cade (as scary as it may be).

Tobias Harris has been arguably the Pistons’ best player during this playoff run, while they’ve also gotten a huge lift in recent games from Daniss Jenkins off the bench. Both players have stepped up into secondary scoring roles. It’s wild to see Harris priced over $7,000 on both sites, but it’s justified. Jenkins has played at least 26 minutes in each of the last 3 games. There’s some volatility there if he happens to struggle, but he’s also clearly too cheap for the role at $4,400 on DraftKings and $4,700 on FanDuel. I’m inclined to eat this chalk again. Ausar Thompson (1.11 FP/minute) was held to 23 minutes in the last game by foul trouble. That’s always a concern with a physical defender like Thompson, though he still grades out pretty well at $6,500 on FD with SG/SF eligibility.

Duncan Robinson has played at least 36 minutes in 3 of the last 4 games with Huerter sidelined. He’s also attempted at least 11 shots from the field in each of his last 4 games. Despite the low floor, Robinson is another strong sub-$5,000 value play on my radar. After a breakout regular season, Jalen Duren has largely struggled in the postseason. The minutes are still there, but his usage is down. He posted a usage rate north of 23% during the campaign, yet he’s only posted a usage rate of over 20% in 1 of the Pistons’ 9 playoff games. Duren is underpriced for his ceiling, but he’s an interesting fade into ownership given the low floor he’s shown of late.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. DET)

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