Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, April 9th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2026-04-09 18:18:31 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.

Hello, friends. Noto is off today, so I’ll be starting in his stead on this lovely Thursday. You’re already going to be sweating your golf lineups as you read this, while things are light on the MLB side today. So, I can think of no better way to pass the time than by taking a light stroll in the NBA streets with just a few days left in the regular season.

Both sites are in lockstep today, offering 5-game main dockets tipping off at 7:00 PM ET. I’m sure there will be no shortage of madness, so let’s dive in.

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

Slate Overview

• 5-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards
  - 7:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors
  - 7:30 pm ET – Boston Celtics at New York Knicks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Indiana Pacers at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets
• 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

Chicago Bulls (at WAS)

The Bulls and Wizards had so much fun going toe-to-toe on Tuesday that they’ve decided to run it back tonight. Chicago claimed the first meeting in rather lopsided fashion (129-98), and they’re favored by 6.5 points on the road in tonight’s rematch. The Bulls may not be actively tanking, but they’re rolling with a very thin roster as the season winds to a close. All of Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Isaac Okoro, Anfernee Simons, Jalen Smith, Nick Richards, Zach Collins, and Noa Essengue will sit this one out. Even with only 9 active bodies and a host of fringe NBA players, the Bulls’ 127 total is very easily the highest on the slate.

If you run optimals in LineupHQ, you’ll be blinded by the sea of red from all of the Bulls logos popping up on the page. Tre Jones and Collin Sexton will serve as the primary ball handlers and offensive initiators, while Rob Dillingham has a path to mid-20s minutes off the bench. I think Jones and Sexton are more likely to top out around 30 minutes than anything else, but 30 minutes in this matchup should be enough for them to deliver. I think Sexton has the slightly higher ceiling than Jones if I’m choosing one or the other. Dillingham has a chance to play a much higher-usage role than he normally does as the backup. He looks like a terrific value at only $4,400 on DK and $4,200 on FD.

The frontcourt is a little messier. Patrick Williams started the 2nd half of the last game after Isaac Okoro left, and we’re projecting him to start in Okoro’s place next to Leonard Miller and Guerschon Yabusele in this one. Williams admittedly feels like a chase after going off in the last game, but the risk is mitigated by his cheap $4,100 salaries on both sites. Miller has been strong on a fantasy points per-minute basis since coming to Chicago (0.99 DK), while Yabu and Lachlan Olbrich will share most of the center minutes. Miller is a real standout on DK at $5,300, while Yabusele’s $4,400 FD salary makes him pop in projections.

Washington Wizards (vs. CHI)

The Wizards have been tanking for what feels like 30 years. They had a little renaissance during the John Wall and Bradley Beal era, but even then, they didn’t really feel like legit contenders. Washington is sporting a healthy 120.5 implied team total thanks to the matchup against the Bulls, but they mustered just 98 points against this team a couple of nights ago. Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, Tristan Vukcevic, Anthony Davis, Trae Young, Kyshawn George, Cam Whitmore, and Jaden Hardy are out. Anthony Gill and Justin Champagnie are available.

The injury news conveniently gives the Wizards the minimum of 8 available bodies for this game. We’ve seen this a time or 3 dozen from various teams this season, and it’s always a situation to attack from a DFS standpoint, simply because everyone in the rotation is likely to play at least 20 minutes with a path to significantly more.

Let’s start in the frontcourt. Gill and Julian Reese started together in the last matchup on Tuesday. Reese went off in his 36 minutes of action, while Gill only played 15, including just 3 after halftime. It’s always about the minutes for Reese. He’s been excellent on a per-minute basis (1.00 DK), while the Bulls have been one of the best matchups for opposing centers all season. I can’t believe we’re paying $6,000 on DK and $6,700 on FD for Reese, but that’s April NBA DFS, folks. He looks like a fabulous play again. I have less faith in Gill, but he’s not a bad sub-$5,000 dice roll in GPPs.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen much upside from Carlton Carrington, but he and Sharife Cooper are really the only guards left on the roster for this one. I prefer Cooper on DK, where he’s $2,100 cheaper than Carrington, though the latter is only $4,900 on FanDuel. Will Riley, Jamir Watkins, Leaky Black, and Champagnie are the forwards. Riley is the one who’s most often shown a useful DFS ceiling. Champagnie and Watkins are very similar plays, while Black is probably the least compelling option. He’s only averaged 0.68 DK FP/minute as a member of the Wizards.

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