Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, November 20th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-11-20 23:49:09 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!

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, November 20th

Slate Overview

• 4-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Orlando Magic
  - 8:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

Los Angeles Clippers (at ORL)

The Clippers have one of the worst matchups on the slate, as they travel to Orlando to take on the Magic. They come into the game with a team total of only 106 points, which is the lowest on the board and 5 points lower than their season average. Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, and Derrick Jones have all been ruled out.

Let’s take a look at the ON/OFF numbers with Leonard, Beal, and Jones off the floor this season:

James Harden has seen a massive 7% usage rate with those three players off the floor. He has topped 60 fantasy points in 3 of his last 5 games and deserves consideration in all formats. Kris Dunn has been starting and has a path to 30 minutes at a cheap price point. We also have Kobe Sanders projected to start. His game log is quite volatile, but he makes for a strong value play if he draws the start.

John Collins has good per-minute numbers, but he has struggled mightily as a starter. He’s been held under 20 fantasy points in each of the last 4 games. I’d rather take the discount and target Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nicolas Batum, Dunn, or Sanders. Ivica Zubac has seen a 0.18 fantasy point per minute boost with Leonard, Beal, and Jones off the floor. It’s not a good matchup by any means, but he has the second-highest RGValue on the Clippers behind Harden.

Orlando Magic (vs. LAC)

This game projects to be played at the slowest pace of any on the schedule tonight, but the Magic still have a nice matchup on paper. The Clippers are bottom 10 in rebounding rate, 3-point percentage allowed, and defensive rating. Even with Paolo Banchero out, the Magic still have a respectable team total of 112 points.

Let’s take a look at the ON/OFF numbers with Banchero off the floor this season:

Franz Wagner has seen the biggest usage boost (+5%) with Banchero off the floor, while Desmond Bane has seen the biggest fantasy point per minute boost (+0.19). Both should push for 35-plus minutes tonight against the Clippers. Jalen Suggs played a season-high 31 minutes on Tuesday and should also see an uptick in usage with Banchero out. Tristan da Silva doesn’t project as well as the other starters, but he has averaged 32 fantasy points over his last 3 games. Wendell Carter is viable as a lineup filler, especially on DraftKings, where we can roster two centers.

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