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

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-03-27 22:20:49 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!

There are only 17 days left in the NBA regular season. While I will miss the number of options we have on large slates, I will not miss the constantly changing injury picture we’ve had for what has felt like months. It’ll be nice to have meaningful basketball games where both teams are actually trying to win.

It’s a great day of sports. We have MLB Opening Day, March Madness games, the start of the Houston Open, and an 8-game slate on tap in the association. Only the first 6 games are included on the DraftKings main slate, while all 8 games are included on the FanDuel main slate.

I’ll be on Crunch Time tonight with Roth and Kristi. I’ll post a link to the show in the News Updates section below.

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

• 8-game main slate on FD, 6-game main slate on DK
  - 7:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Orlando Magic
  - 7:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards
  - 7:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 9:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz
  - 10:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings
• Front end of a back-to-back: Cavaliers, Jazz
• Back end of a back-to-back: Wizards, Lakers, Pacers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

1:30 PM ET

Kevin Love has been ruled out for the Heat. Kyshawn George and Marcus Smart have been ruled out for the Wizards, while Khris Middleton will play.

Team Previews

San Antonio Spurs (at CLE)

We start the slate with the Spurs, who travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers. They come into the game with a team total that is 3 points lower than their season average. De’Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama, and Charles Bassey are all out.

We don’t have a single player in LineupHQ with a positive RGValue, but the Spurs have some interesting tournament plays here. Keldon Johnson remains cheap and offers a high floor, while Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell have put up ceiling performances in recent weeks. For large field tournaments, Sandro Mamukelashvili be a difference-maker, especially if this game turns into a blowout.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. SAS)

The Cavaliers have been tremendous all season and come into tonight’s game against the Spurs with a team total that is 3 points higher than their season average. This is impressive since they will be without Evan Mobley and have listed Ty Jerome as questionable.

Here’s who benefits the most with Mobley off the floor:

Jarrett Allen sees a usage boost and a major FP/min boost with Mobley off the floor. He’s affordable and has a nice matchup against a shorthanded frontcourt. He’s my first core play tag of the slate. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter, and Max Strus are all viable tournament targets.

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