Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, December 14th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-12-14 22:23:05 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, international pop icon 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 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! The NBA Cup games yesterday were excellent, and the DFS slate went pretty well too, especially if you did not play Tristan da Silva and his one (1) rebound. We’re back to reality today with some plain-old regular-season action. As usual, it’s worth noting the difference between the DraftKings and FanDuel dockets. Both start early at 6 PM ET, but DK is only including the first 4 games, while FanDuel decided to tack on the LAL/PHX and GSW/POR contests.

Without further ado – there’s been way too much ado already – let’s dive in.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, December 14th

Slate Overview

• DraftKings: 4-game main slate; FanDuel – 6-game main slate
  - 6:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks
  - 6:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 7:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns
  - 9:00 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers
• 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

Philadelphia 76ers (at ATL)

The Sixers are starting to get healthier, though they won’t be at full strength tonight in Atlanta. Tyrese Maxey is expected to miss a second straight game due to illness, and he’s officially doubtful. Joel Embiid is questionable with his never-ending knee soreness, while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford remain out. Philly is only a 4.5-point underdog on the road here, albeit with a middling 111 implied team total.

Atlanta is a good on-ball defense, particularly on the perimeter. Quentin Grimes likely draws another spot start in place of Maxey, while Jared McCain could be in line for a bigger role off the bench. Grimy comes with handy G/F eligibility on both sites, and he logged 38 minutes in this role without Maxey on Friday night. Pretty hard to hate that, even if he’s not the highest-usage Sixer in this situation. He’ll get a boost there if Embiid is also out. V.J. Edgecombe (0.94 FP/minute) played 39 in the last game, and he didn’t get much of a salary bump either. His usage is slightly lower than Grimes’ in the minutes without Maxey, so the floor is fairly low in spite of the safe minutes. Again, Edgecombe will look better if Embiid joins Maxey on the sidelines.

Embiid (+8.1%) and Paul George (+4.3%) are the big usage winners without Maxey. Embiid logged a season-high 31 minutes on Friday without Maxey, and he’s cracked 30 in 3 of his last 4 appearances. Onyeka Okongwu lacks the size and defensive quality to really give Embiid much trouble, which makes him a phenomenal option again at his mid-range price points if he plays. If he doesn’t, Andre Drummond ($5,600) becomes a solid value option at center. George doesn’t have the same minutes ceiling as Grimes or Edgecombe, but he is the best per-minute producer of the group. Dominick Barlow (0.92 FP/minute) has been fairly productive, and he quietly played 34 minutes on Friday night. He’s on my radar for larger-field contests if Embiid is in.

Atlanta Hawks (vs. PHI)

The Hawks have played pretty well this season, even with consistent injury issues. Trae Young is nearing a return, but it won’t happen tonight. Kristaps Porzingis is also still sidelined, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker is questionable with a sore ankle. Atlanta is favored by 4.5 points on their home floor in this one.

Philly’s defense has been poor throughout the season, particularly against high-usage guards. NAW has played a high-usage role in Young’s absence (25.9%). I’m not excited to pay north of $7,000 for Alexander-Walker on DK, but $6,700 on FD with F/G eligibility is useful. If NAW is out, Vit Krejci presumably steps into the starting unit with the potential for more Luke Kennard minutes off the bench. Not all that exciting, but they’re both very cheap. Dyson Daniels is worth keeping in your player pool, and he’s another guy who’d benefit from a potential NAW absence.

I’m burying the lede, though. Jalen Johnson is leading the Hawks in usage, assist rate, and rebound rate with Young and KP off the floor, and it all adds up to 1.5 DK FP/minute. Johnson is now pushing $11,000 on both sites, and you can still argue that’s not expensive enough. Embiid is not the rim protector he once was, and Johnson’s role is just outstanding. Fantastic play in all formats. Okongwu will have his hands full with Embiid, though the matchup improves if Embiid sits. There’s a wide range of outcomes there – and Okongwu won’t come cheap – but I don’t mind taking shots in GPPs.

Milwaukee Bucks (at BKN)

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