Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, February 27th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-02-27 23:29:29 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 and has long been one of the top NBA DFS minds in the industry. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. Their Core Plays LIVE article 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, Core Plays LIVE has everything you need for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Happy Thursday!

What a rare slate last night. Deni Avdija was a core play for me and was featured in my main lineup. He got injured 5 minutes into the game. I cued up the GIF where Ron Swanson unplugs his computer and goes outside to throw it in the dumpster. However, thanks to 62 fantasy points from Day’Ron Sharpe and 57 fantasy points from Zach Collins, I placed in the top 10% of my small-field tournaments. What a great surprise that was at the end of the night.

Unfortunately, my cousin’s team lost in the state championship game. Their best shooter had 26 points in the semifinal game but didn’t make a single shot in the championship game. It wasn’t the ending they had in mind, but it was still a great season. The worst part is that they lost to the same team in the football state championship a few months earlier. It’s weird how sports work when you think about it. There’s really only one team that feels great at the end of the season.

As for tonight, we have 5 games on the schedule, and all 5 are included on both FanDuel and DraftKings. I will be on Crunch Time tonight, which means I won’t be able to update this article after 6:00 PM ET. For my final thoughts, make sure to watch the live stream with myself, Kevin Roth, and Chris Kirkwood. I’ll post the link when it becomes available.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, February 27th

• 5-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic
  - 8:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:30 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:30 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Nuggets, Pelicans, Suns, Wolves, Lakers
• Back end of a back-to-back: None
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Golden State Warriors (at ORL)

We kick off the slate with the Warriors, who have a tough draw on the road. The Magic are 29th in pace and 1st in points allowed per game this season. The Warriors are favored by 5.5 points but have a team total that is 5 points lower than their season average. Jonathan Kuminga is still out, while Trayce Jackson-Davis is listed as questionable.

I’ve said this many times in this article and in the Grind Down over the years — Jimmy Butler tends to play his best in difficult matchups. Perhaps it’s because he’s more motivated, or perhaps it’s because his teammates need to lean on him a bit more. Regardless of the reason, he’s the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue. He’s far from a must-play, but he’s at least interesting for tournaments. Draymond Green has topped 30 fantasy points in 5 straight games and is viable as a lineup filler.

Orlando Magic (vs. GSW)

The Magic generally don’t play in the best game environments, and tonight’s game against the Warriors will likely be the worst on the slate (at least from a fantasy production standpoint). The Magic have a team total of only 102 points, which is 4 points lower than the next closest total. Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner are still out, while Cole Anthony is listed as questionable.

There’s not a ton that stands out in the projections for the Magic, but they are more appealing than the Warriors. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have similar price points and similar projections. Wagner has been the more consistent of the two recently, but I still view Banchero as the better ceiling play. If Anthony ends up being out, 25% of the usage will open up and make Wagner and Banchero even more appealing. Wendell Carter is a decent lineup filler given his decent floor.

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