Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, April 11th
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, and Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. 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 NBA DFS picks, 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 Thursday! Or should I say, Happy Masters Day!
After last night’s NBA slate, I’m officially ready for the regular season to end. It’s getting more and more difficult to stay committed to playing NBA DFS when nothing matters until 15 minutes before tip-off. It seems like any player who is listed as questionable throughout the day ends up getting ruled out. On top of that, we’ve had a bunch of surprise scratches right before games start. And to make matters worse, only a handful of teams are actively trying to win games at this stage of the season.
At this point, slates are more about information than anything else. We can break down the matchups and the rotations all we want, but that all goes out the window when a team rules out half of their usual rotation. If you are playing these slates, make sure to carve out at least 30 minutes before lock to finalize your lineups. As far as tonight goes, there are 5 games on the schedule, and every single team is playing on the front half of a back-to-back.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, April 11th
Slate Overview
- 5-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
- 7:30 PM ET – New York Knicks at Boston Celtics
- 9:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz
- 10:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Sacramento Kings
- 10:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Bulls, Pistons, Knicks, Celtics, Rockets, Jazz, Warriors, Blazers, Pelicans, Kings
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: None
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.
Team Previews
Chicago Bulls (at DET): We kick off the slate with the Bulls, who are in a battle with the Hawks for the 9th seed in the East. Tonight they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons, who are 9th in pace and 26th in defensive rating. The Bulls are listed as 9.5-point favorites and have a total that is 3 points higher than their season average. Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams are out, Andre Drummond is doubtful, and Ayo Dosunmu is questionable. Drummond’s absence could lead to a few extra minutes for Nikola Vucevic, who gets to face a team that struggles to defend the paint. If Dosunmu is out, we’ll see about 35 minutes open up in the rotation. Regardless, the Bulls should be one of the top teams to target on this slate. Vucevic, Coby White, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso all have positive RGValues in the projections.
Detroit Pistons (vs. CHI): The Pistons have lost 9 of their last 10 games and should end the season with the worst record in the league. They can win another game and still have a worse record than the Wizards. Tonight they host the Bulls, who are 28th in pace and 21st in defensive rating. The Pistons have the 2nd lowest team total on the board. Ausar Thompson, Quentin Grimes, Stanley Umude, Isaiah Stewart, and Simone Fontecchio have all been ruled out, while Cade Cunningham is listed as questionable. There’s not a player with a positive RGValue in the projections at the moment, but that will change if Cunningham ends up being out. As it stands right now, Chimezie Metu is the only player on my radar from the Pistons. He has a path to 30+ minutes thanks to the injuries in the frontcourt.
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