Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, November 12th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-11-12 23:13:57 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 Wednesday!

It’s never fun when you get everything on the slate right except for your core plays. That’s what happened last night. I had all of the right pieces, but Jaylen Brown, Trendon Watford, and Keyonte George all performed below expectations. I ended up just shy of the cash line, so it ended up being a night of what-ifs.

We have 12 games on the schedule tonight. All 12 are included on FanDuel’s main slate, while only the first 9 are included on DraftKings’ main slate. With so many games and so many back-to-back situations, buckle up for a busy day of injury news.

As is the case every Wednesday, I’ll be on Crunch Time with Kevin Roth at 6:15 PM ET. I’ll drop the link below in the “News Updates” section before we go live.

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, November 12th

Slate Overview

• Slate slate – DraftKings: 9 games, FanDuel: 12 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at New York Knicks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
  - 7:30 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Houston Rockets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 8:30 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 10:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Sacramento Kings
  - 10:30 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers
• 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

Milwaukee Bucks (at CHA)

We kick off tonight’s mammoth slate with the Bucks, who have one of the top matchups on the board. The Hornets are 9th in pace and bottom 6 in both points allowed per game and defensive rating. Taurean Prince and Kevin Porter have been ruled out, while Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as questionable.

Our interest in the Bucks is going to hinge on the availability of Giannis. If he’s active, he’ll become one of the top spends on the slate. He has averaged 1.88 DK / 1.86 FD points per minute this season with a usage rate of 35%. With Giannis currently in the projections, Ryan Rollins is the only other player on the roster with a positive RGValue. If Giannis ends up being out, Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis would both see upticks in minutes, while the rest of the lineup would see an uptick in usage. Here’s who benefits the most with Giannis and KPJ off the floor:

Charlotte Hornets (vs. MIL)

The Hornets draw a decent matchup at home against the Bucks, who are 10th in pace and 20th in points allowed per game. Charlotte’s team total is 5 points lower than their season average, but that has more to do with their injuries. LaMelo Ball, Grant Williams, Brandon Miller, Josh Green, and Tidjane Salaun are all out, while Ryan Kalkbrenner is questionable.

Collin Sexton should benefit from the injuries, but he hasn’t played more than 30 minutes in any of the last 6 games. Sion James and Tre Mann would have appeal on a small slate, but there are better value plays available tonight. Kon Knueppel has topped 40 fantasy points in 4 straight games and projects as the top point-per-dollar option from the Hornets tonight. At this point, it’s hard not to keep trusting him while Ball is out. Miles Bridges is viable in tournaments, as he has topped 50 fantasy points in 2 of the last 5 games. If Kalkbrenner ends up being out, Moussa Diabate will become one of the top value plays on the slate.

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