NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Monday, March 18th
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 Monday!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Most of the focus will be on March Madness brackets, but we have a full week of NBA games on the schedule. I had a fairly quiet weekend. I finally finished the floors in my spare room (turns out I can do something on my own), we saw some friends, and we saw some family. I’m still licking my wounds from THE PLAYERS Championship, but I’ll save that rant for this week’s golf article.
We have 8 games on the schedule this evening. FanDuel and DraftKings remind me a little of me and my ex-wife. We could never get along for more than a few days at a time before we disagreed. Believe it or not, we actually get along better now than we did when we were married. I’m getting off track here. FanDuel is rolling out a 5-game main slate, and DraftKings is rolling out an 8-game main slate. The Pistons, Celtics, Heat, and Hawks are all playing in the second half of a back-to-back.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, March 18th
Slate Overview
- 8-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers
- 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics
- 7:30 PM ET – Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers
- 8:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Chicago Bulls
- 9:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz
- 10:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Sacramento Kings
- 10:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Golden State Warriors
- 10:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Lakers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Wolves
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Pistons, Celtics, Heat, Hawks
- 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
Cleveland Cavaliers (at IND): We kick off tonight’s slate with the Cavaliers, who have lost 6 of their last 10 games. They currently sit in 3rd in the Eastern Conference and can move up or down, so the last stretch of the season will be important for them. A matchup against the Pacers is one of the best in the NBA, and the Cavaliers come into the game with a total that is 5.1 points below their season average. The low total is because Cleveland will be without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Max Strus, and likely Dean Wade. The three biggest beneficiaries are Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen. It’s a solid matchup for all three, and they will see an uptick in usage and/or playing time. For value, you can certainly do worse than Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, and Sam Merrill.
Indiana Pacers (vs. CLE): The Pacers have won 5 of their last 10 games and are currently clinging onto the 6th seed in the East. Tonight they host the Cavaliers, who are 21st in pace and 3rd in defensive rating. While an implied total of 116 points might seem high, it is 7.1 points below their season average. Except Bennedict Mathurin, the Pacers will be at full strength for this one, which actually lowers their appeal for DFS. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner have slightly positive RGValues but aren’t priorities by any means. Tyrese Haliburton is viable in tournaments, but he has only averaged 38 fantasy points per game with Siakam active since the Pacers acquired him in the trade.
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