Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, October 23rd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-10-23 20:28:47 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!

Last night I had a serious case of choice overload. There were too many good plays at each position that I had a difficult time narrowing down my player pool. I hit on most of my value plays except for Jaylon Tyson, and I hit on most of my spends except for Cam Thomas. Unfortunately, having two subpar plays in your lineup on a 12-game slate is not going to get the job done. I hate to say it, but I was excited to wake up and see that there were only 2 games on the schedule tonight.

Halloween is around the corner, and my house is in a mad scramble to figure out costumes for the kids. I don’t shame adults who like to dress up, but it’s not for me. Our baby girl is going to be a ladybug, our oldest is going to be some type of tree or leaf (for the ladybug), and our middle is dead set on being the character Jinu from K-pop Demon Hunters. If you have a kid between the ages of 4 and 12, you have probably heard of this movie and/or the 15 popular songs from it.

He not only wants to be the character, but he also requested a very specific outfit from the movie that is not part of any buyable costume online, so we are having to make it ourselves. Believe it or not, making a costume is not my area of expertise. Thankfully, my better half knows what she’s doing and is making the costumes for all of the kids. I act like I’m helping, but I’m really just here for emotional support. Just like I’m always here for you if you have any questions about DFS.

Let’s dive into tonight’s 2-gamer.

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, October 23rd

Slate Overview

• 2-game main slate
  - 7:30 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers
  - 10:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors
• 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

Oklahoma City Thunder (at IND)

The Thunder picked up a huge comeback win over the Rockets in their season opener in a game that went into double overtime. If we trust preseason metrics, they find themselves in a much better matchup tonight, as the Pacers were 5th in pace and 27th in points allowed per game in the preseason. The Thunder come into this game with the highest team total on the board at 119 points.

Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, and Isaiah Joe have all been ruled out of tonight’s game, while Lu Dort and Cason Wallace are listed as questionable. It took a while for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to get going in the opener, but he finished the game with 56 fantasy points and a usage rate of 31%. He played 37 minutes in regulation and another 10 minutes in overtime. He’s not my favorite spend on this slate, but he’s certainly viable in a fast-paced game against the Pacers. Wallace and Dort both started on Tuesday and should both push for 30+ minutes tonight if active. I’ll side with Wallace, who offers more upside.

Ajay Mitchell had a 38% usage rate in the opener and put up 25 fantasy points in only 14 minutes of action. We have him projected for 24 minutes this evening, which could go up if Dort and/or Wallace are unable to suit up. Aaron Wiggins underwhelmed on Tuesday, but he averaged more than a fantasy point per minute in the preseason and should see an uptick in playing time tonight. He’s one of my favorite value plays for tournaments. Isaiah Hartenstein fouled out in 36 minutes of action the other night. He’s going to be a high-floor option in DFS as long as Williams is out. Chet Holmgren can put up points quickly, but he can also go long stretches on the floor without doing much. He projects well, but he’s my least favorite starter on the Thunder tonight. For large-field tournaments, Jaylin Williams has 20+ fantasy point upside at $3,200 on DraftKings.

Indiana Pacers (vs. OKC)

The Pacers are the first of two teams that we haven’t seen yet this season. They are coming off a magical season where they made it all the way to the NBA Finals. They eventually lost to the Thunder, but they exceeded all expectations. Unfortunately, they aren’t expected to replicate that season. After losing Myles Turner in free agency, their win total is set at only 37.5 games, which puts them in the 6-10 seed range in the Eastern Conference. They open the season with a matchup against the Thunder, so they’ll get an immediate chance to avenge their Finals loss.

Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell are both out to start the season, which opens up minutes in the backcourt and usage in the offense. Since they are returning a similar roster as last season, let’s see who benefited the most with Haliburton, McConnell, and Turner off the floor last season:

We’ve known about these injuries for a while, so it’s not like a bunch of Pacers are mispriced. However, Bennedict Mathurin saw massive usage and FP/min boosts with those three players off the floor last season. He also averaged 1.52 DK / 1.44 FD points per minute during the regular season. He’s my first Core Play tag of the slate. Andrew Nembhard played great in last season’s playoff run and averaged 1.24 DK / 1.24 FD points per minute during the preseason. He’ll naturally pick up playmaking responsibilities with Haliburton out. I have no issue with Aaron Nesmith at his price point, but I do prefer Mathurin and Nembhard on this slate.

We don’t have a big minute projection (20) on Ben Sheppard, but it’s worth noting that he saw a massive 0.39 FP/min boost with those three players off the floor last season. He’s a solid tournament flier. Pascal Siakam has to battle against a tough defensive frontcourt, but he was tremendous in the preseason and could be the top option offensively for the Pacers to open the season. With Turner gone, Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and Obi Toppin will all help fill those minutes. Jackson and Huff aren’t the best per-minute producers, so I’ll side with Toppin, who has flashed plenty of upside in limited minutes throughout his career.

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