Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, December 18th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-12-18 22:49:23 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. 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 Thursday!

It’s been a strange schedule for the association this week. We typically have a small slate on Thursdays, but there are 12 games on the schedule this evening. I typically don’t love the massive slates, but this one is welcome after having 1 game on Tuesday and 2 games last night.

We recently got new iPhones, and I had a good laugh as a meme came to life. You know the meme about people keeping their iPhone boxes for no reason? That happened in my world. My better half had a really tough time throwing away her new iPhone box.

“What if I need the serial number and stuff on the back?”

“What if something goes wrong and I need to take it back?”

Christmas is officially a week away. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but this is your last reminder to finalize those Christmas presents.

Without further ado, let’s dive into tonight’s slate.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, December 18th

Slate Overview

• Slate Size – DraftKings: 11 Games, FanDuel: 12 Games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 8:30 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Denver Nuggets
  - 9:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz
  - 9:00 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:00 PM ET

We have a few small updates. Norman Powell will play for the Heat.

Naji Marshall is now questionable for the Mavericks. This is another injury we need to monitor on Dallas.

Jakob Poeltl is now questionable for the Raptors. If he’s out, it’s Sandro Mamukelashvili time.

Team Previews

Atlanta Hawks (at CHA)

We kick off tonight’s large slate with the Hawks, who have an interesting matchup against the Hornets. Charlotte plays at a slow pace and are a great rebounding team, but they are also bottom 8 in both points allowed per game and defensive rating. The Hawks have a team total that is 4 points higher than their season average. Kristaps Porzingis is out, while Trae Young is questionable.

If Young is back in the lineup, he will be on a minute restriction. However, he’ll still cut into the usage and playing time of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. I’m perfectly fine fading this backcourt if Young is active. If he’s out, Daniels and NAW will become interesting tournament plays. Onyeka Okongwu sees a boost with Porzingis out and has a nice matchup, but we have no shortage of options at center. Jalen Johnson is the only player on my radar from the Hawks. He has scored at least 50 fantasy points in 7 straight games and has topped 70 fantasy points in 4 of those games.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. ATL)

The Hornets draw a favorable matchup at home against the Hawks, who are 6th in pace and 20th in points allowed per game. Despite being 5.5-point underdogs, the Hawks have a team total that is 2 points higher than their season average. Pat Connaughton, Tre Mann, Grant Williams, and Collin Sexton have all been ruled out, while LaMelo Ball is questionable.

The Hornets aren’t super appealing if Ball is active, but a ton of usage and minutes open up if he’s out. Let’s see who benefits the most with Ball and Sexton off the floor:

The names above aren’t exactly the ones I was expecting, but Kon Knueppel has seen a healthy usage and FP/min. boost with those players off the floor. He has scored at least 40 fantasy points in 3 of his last 4 games. Ball’s absence would also make Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller more enticing. If Ball is active, I wouldn’t prioritize anyone from the Hornets.

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