NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Thursday, December 28th
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 everyone!
While there have been some antics I haven’t loved from teams this week (the Nets rotation last night), I have loved the schedule. We have had between 5 and 10 games every day this week and that continues into the weekend. That’s the sweet spot when it comes to NBA DFS content and lineup building.
I don’t have any amusing anecdotes to share, so let’s talk about tonight’s slate. There are 8 games on the schedule and all of them are featured on the main slates for both FanDuel and DraftKings. We get 30 extra minutes to finalize lineups, as the first game doesn’t start until 7:30 PM ET. The Mavericks are the only team playing in the second half of a back-to-back, while there are six teams playing in the front end of a back-to-back.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, December 28th
Slate Overview
- 8-game slate
- 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics
- 8:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls
- 8:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves
- 8:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at New Orleans Pelicans
- 9:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets
- 10:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers
- 10:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors
- 10:30 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Celtics, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Spurs, Blazers, Hornets
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Mavericks
- 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
Detroit Pistons (at BOS): Something tells me the Celtics aren’t going to be the ones to snap the long losing streak for the Pistons. Detroit couldn’t beat the Jazz or Nets at home, so I doubt they are going to beat the Celtics on the road. This is a tough matchup for fantasy production. The Pistons are 17-point underdogs and have the 2nd lowest team total of the slate. Isaiah Stewart has been ruled out, but this team should have everyone else available. Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham aren’t the worst point-per-dollar options in the projections, but I will be full-fading the Pistons tonight.
Boston Celtics (vs. DET): The Celtics have the best record and the 2nd best point differential in basketball. Tonight they are playing at home against a team that has lost 27 straight games. I like their chances in this one. The matchup is one of the best on the slate, and the Celtics have the highest team total of the 16 teams in action tonight. The problem is the 17-point spread. We’ll have to take a wait-and-see approach with Boston, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both listed as questionable. If one or both end up being out, the Celtics become a lot more interesting for DFS.
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