NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Thursday Playbook

Published: Apr 09, 2026

It's Thursday, April 9th, and we have a five-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel.

There are some truly ludicrous injury/tanking situations going on across the Association tonight (looking at you, Chicago, Washington, Indiana, and Brooklyn). There is an abundance of value options and not all that many stars to spend up for.

Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.

News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
NBA DFS Projections
Lineup Generator
NBA Ownership

NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, April 9th

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Pre/Post-Lock Update Section

This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock.

Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.

All status updates after contest roster lock will be made in the Fantasy Alarm Discord: https://discord.gg/2yATJxXe8G

UPDATE 6:50 PM ET

Tari Eason - Available
Norman Powell - Available
Kobe Brown - OUT
Ben Sheppard - OUT
Jarace Walker - Available

UPDATE 6:00 PM ET

Derrick White - Available
Neemias Queta - Available
Tyler Kolek - OUT
Collin Sexton - Available
Lachlan Olbrich - Available
Patrick Williams - Available

UPDATE 2:00 PM ET

Isaac Okoro - OUT
Justin Champagnie - Available
Bilal Coulibaly - OUT
Anthony Gill - Available
Jaden Hardy - OUT
Tre Johnson - OUT
Tari Eason - Questionable (downgrade)
Jaylen Brown - OUT
Sam Hauser - Available
Joel Embiid - OUT

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 4/9

CHI:
Isaac Okoro - Out
Collin Sexton - Available
Patrick Williams - Available
Lachlan Olbrich - Available
Josh Giddey - Out
Matas Buzelis - Out
Anfernee Simons - Out
Nick Richards - Out
Jalen Smith - Out
Noa Essengue - Out
Zach Collins - Out
WAS:
Bilal Coulibaly - Out
Tre Johnson - Out
Anthony Gill - Available
Justin Champagnie - Available
Jaden Hardy - Out
Alex Sarr - Out
Tristan Vukcevic - Out
Anthony Davis - Out
Trae Young - Out
Cam Whitmore - Out
Kyshawn George - Out
MIA:
Norman Powell - Available
Nikola Jovic - Out
TOR:
None
BOS:
Jaylen Brown - Out
Derrick White - Available
Neemias Queta - Available
Sam Hauser - Available
NYK:
Tyler Kolek - Out
IND:
Jarace Walker - Available
Ben Sheppard - Out
Kobe Brown - Out
Aaron Nesmith - Out
Andrew Nembhard - Out
Pascal Siakam - Out
T.J. McConnell - Out
Ivica Zubac - Out
Johnny Furphy - Out
Tyrese Haliburton - Out
BKN:
Nic Claxton - Out
Noah Clowney - Out
Nolan Traore - Out
Terance Mann - Out
Ziaire Williams - Out
Josh Minott - Out
Michael Porter - Out
Danny Wolf - Out
Day'Ron Sharpe - Out
Egor Demin - Out
PHI:
Cameron Payne - Out
HOU:
Fred VanVleet - Out
Steven Adams - Out

h/t @UnderdogNBA

NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews

In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.

NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks

Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.

Don't Miss The NBA DFS Playbook Live Show At 5:00 PM ET

Stacks

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