Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, March 18th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-03-18 22:14:38 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 Tuesday!

It’s hard to believe, but MLB is already back. We had the first game of the regular season early this morning and have another game early tomorrow morning. It’s a bit strange that these are official games since the rest of the league doesn’t start until March 27th, but either way, it’s good to have baseball back. As always, we have a ton of great content for all of your MLB DFS needs if you would like to join us this season. It’s a great time to sign up for Combo Pro or Combo Lite, as the best part of the PGA TOUR season is also coming up.

We are officially 10 weeks away from baby girl’s due date! We are hitting the reset button on life, which is both wild and exciting at the same time. When the time comes, I will be taking a break from NBA content, but I am going to continue to provide my weekly PGA content. Luckily, you will still be in great hands with our NBA team. Also, we’ll be well into the playoffs.

As far as tonight’s slate goes, we only have 4 games on the schedule. It should be an easy day of injury news, which means we can start building our lineups in advance. Let’s dive into the team previews.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, March 18th

• 4-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:30 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics
  - 10:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors
  - 10:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Cavaliers
• Back end of a back-to-back: Warriors
• 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

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

Team Previews

Atlanta Hawks (at CHA)

We kick off tonight’s small slate with the Hawks, who have a mediocre matchup on the road against the Hornets. They come into the game with a team total that is 4 points higher than their season average. Clint Capela, Jalen Johnson, Caris LeVert, Larry Nance, and Keaton Wallace have all been ruled out.

Trae Young has topped 50 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games and has seen a 2% usage boost with Johnson off the floor this season. He’s a strong option in all formats, although I typically only look his way for tournaments. Dyson Daniels has the higher floor on a per-dollar basis and should see 35-ish minutes in this favorable matchup. With LeVert out, we have Georges Niang, Zaccharie Risacher, Terance Mann, and Vit Krejci all projected for 24-to-27 minutes. They are all viable lineup fillers. Onyeka Okongwu has topped 44 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games and projects as a strong option at center.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. ATL)

The Hornets have been a tough team to trust for DFS this season, but they draw one of the best possible matchups at home. They are facing the Hawks, who are 2nd in pace and 27th in points allowed per game. The Hornets are 6.5-point underdogs but have a team total that is 9 points higher than their season average. Miles Bridges, Tre Mann, Brandon Miller, Josh Okogie, KJ Simpson, Grant Williams, and Tidjane Salaun are all out.

Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers

Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!