Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, November 29th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-11-29 23:09:28 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. 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.

Happy Saturday! I hope you had a fine Thanksgiving, and I hope you celebrated Black Friday by successfully wrestling that new TV away from an old man at Wal-Mart. I went wine tasting with the family yesterday afternoon. I wasn’t planning on playing the slate because I wasn’t going to be around at lock, but ultimately decided to throw something at the $5 single-entry on DraftKings. I wound up finishing 3rd without doing any pre-lock tinkering. It’s just another reminder that you can still trust your gut in this game, especially when it’s full of various wines and a selection of eclectic cheeses.

Anyway, the group phase of the Emirates NBA Cup ended yesterday, so we’re back to plain old regular-season action tonight. We’re looking at 5 games starting at 7:30 ET on DraftKings, while FanDuel, as usual, is including the 10:00 PM DAL/LAC affair. Let’s get into it, shall we?

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, November 29th

Slate Overview

• Main slate size: FanDuel – 6 games, DraftKings – 5 games
  - 7:30 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers
  - 8:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Golden State Warriors
  - 9:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers
• 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 leading into lock.

Team Previews

Chicago Bulls (at IND)

A lot of the teams in action tonight also played last night. That includes both teams in this game. The Bulls went into Charlotte and lost to the lowly Hornets, though they’re favored by 3.5 points to bounce back tonight in Indiana. Chicago’s 123 total for this game is also the highest on the slate. We’re expecting Coby White and Isaac Okoro to sit tonight, while we’re calling Dalen Terry questionable. Zach Collins remains out.

The Pacers have been one of the worst interior defenses in the sport this season, which bodes well for both Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey. Giddey has torn it up this season (1.49 FP/minute) with White off the floor, while Vucevic should have his way with Indiana’s undersized and underwhelming center rotation. I suppose Giddey’s matchup gets a little tougher if Andrew Nembhard returns, though he’ll still have a size advantage. Neither star projects too well from a median standpoint, but they look like excellent GPP plays if the ownership is reasonable as a result.

Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones are both averaging exactly 1 DK FP/minute with White off the floor. They’re priced similarly, though Ayo theoretically has the safer path to minutes assuming he remains the starter. Dosunmu’s positional flexibility (SG/SF) is also far more useful than Jones’ PG-only eligibility on DK. You can play the ownership game here, as Jones is projected for just a fraction of Ayo’s ownership. Jalen Smith has a wide range of outcomes in limited backup minutes off the bench, though he’s still productive enough to warrant a look on DK at $4,900.

Indiana Pacers (vs. CHI)

The Pacers blew the doors off the Wizards last night to notch just their third win of the season. Indiana is getting healthier in general, but it’s pretty clearly a lost season overall. We’re calling Andrew Nembhard questionable after he missed last night’s game with a sore quad. Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Quenton Jackson, Johnny Furphy, and Kam Jones remain out. Indiana is a 3.5-point home underdog, yet their 119.5 implied team total is still among the highest on the night.

The Bulls are still hemorrhaging points in the paint. but the Pacers aren’t exactly equipped to take full advantage of that weakness. I do think it’s a solid bounce-back spot for Bennedict Mathurin after a middling showing last night, as he’s generating tons of usage (28%) this season without Tyrese Haliburton. Pascal Siakam is still playing heavy minutes most nights in competitive games. Given Chicago’s porous interior defense and his slowly declining salaries, I’m in on Siakam again here. Jarace Walker is still under $5,000 and back in the Indiana starting unit. I don’t think he’s a great option if he attracts a bunch of ownership, but he does project well for the dollar.

Jay Huff has been playing bigger minutes of late, and he started at the 5 last night against Washington. He’s more of a floor stretcher than a guy who’ll live in the post, but he’s hovering in the $4,000 range on both sites and is contributing 1.05 FP/minute on the season. Huff may be extreme chalk if he starts again – which is risky on FD where he’s only center eligible – but it’s tough to argue with in such an elite matchup. Nembhard is a playable mid-range option if he suits up. If he doesn’t, Ben Sheppard likely draws another start with TJ McConnell potentially playing a bigger role off the bench. I think TJ is viable in any scenario given his outstanding 1.31 FP/minute rate on the season. Just about everyone on the Indiana side is really popping, so be cognizant of how much chalk you’re potentially eating here.

Detroit Pistons (at MIA)

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