Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, April 5th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2026-04-05 17:35:50 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 the reins. 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.

Happy Sunday! Core Plays was a DNP (load management) yesterday, but we’re back with gusto to close out the weekend. The NBA’s regular season is coming to a close. The final games of the campaign are a week from today, when all 30 teams will be in action. As always, we’ll be here all week long to help guide you through the neverending chaos of the end of the NBA season.

The sites are doing things a bit differently today, as FanDuel decided to tack on a couple of late-night games in California that won’t appear on the DraftKings 4-gamer. Fortunately, both slates start at the same time, 7 PM ET. I’ll also be on GrindersLive with TJ and Tim in the hour leading up to lock, breaking it down and answering any questions you may have.

Off we go!

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, April 5th

Slate Overview

• Slate size: DraftKings – 4 games; FanDuel – 6 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Charlotte Hornets at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 7:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 7:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 7:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento Kings
  - 10:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
• 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

Charlotte Hornets (at MIN)

We will tip things off with what should be a competitive affair between a couple of playoff teams. The upstart Hornets are actually 2.5-point favorites in Minneapolis tonight, which shows you just how far they’ve come this season. Charlotte is currently the No. 8 seed out East, though they’re still just 1.5 games behind Toronto for 6th. The Hornets are also among the NBA’s healthiest teams at this point, with only PJ Hall (ankle) set to miss this game due to injury.

Because they’re still playing for something, we can expect normal minutes for Charlotte’s regulars. LaMelo Ball (31.5%) and Brandon Miller (28.7%) will get the lion’s share of the usage among starters, while Coby White (32.7%) actually leads the team in that department since his arrival at the trade deadline. LaMelo’s minutes are the wonkiest of the starters, but he’s so productive (1.36 FP/minute) that he can still offer a ceiling. He’s a terrific play in all formats on both sites. Miller ($7,400) looks a tick too cheap on DraftKings, and he’s a bit of a better play over there on the smaller slate. White is more of a large-field GPP dice roll.

Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges play lower-usage roles, though Knueppel has flashed more consistent upside than Bridges. SG/SF eligibility and a $6,600 price tag makes Knueppel look particularly intriguing on FanDuel. Moussa Diabate gets a tough individual draw against Rudy Gobert in a French-off. I’ll find someone else to prioritize at center.

Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. CHA)

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