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

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-02-27 18:53:29 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. So, who better to walk you through the madness of NBA DFS slates on DraftKings and FanDuel? Core Plays LIVE will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best plays, 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 Friday!

The weekend is here, and spring is right around the corner. Life is good.

We have 5 games on the schedule, which is a nice break from the massive slates with overwhelming injury news. While we still have some injury situations to monitor throughout the day, it will be much more manageable than last night’s slate.

I’ll be on Crunch Time with Dean and Beer tonight at 6:00 PM ET. Join us as we break down the slate and answer questions from chat.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, February 27th

Slate Overview

• 5-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:30 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:30 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:30 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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 DET)

We kick off tonight’s 5-game slate with the Cavaliers, who have one of the worst matchups on the board. The Pistons are ranked 5th or better in rebounding rate, 3-point percentage allowed, defensive rating, and points allowed per game. Cleveland’s team total is 10 points lower than their season average. Donovan Mitchell is out, while James Harden, Dennis Schroder, Dean Wade, and Keon Ellis are all questionable.

Harden’s availability is going to have a major impact on tonight’s slate. With him currently in the projections, there’s not a single player on the roster with a positive RGValue. If active, Harden is firmly in play for tournaments with Mitchell out. With Mitchell and Harden both out the other night, Dennis Schroder played 34 minutes and scored 38 fantasy points. However, he’s also listed as questionable. Jaylon Tyson put up 37 fantasy points in 35 minutes with Mitchell and Harden out the other night. It’s not a good matchup for Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley will be back in the lineup.

Let’s take a wait-and-see approach for now, but Harden’s absence could open up some strong plays from Cleveland.

Detroit Pistons (vs. CLE)

The Pistons have a decent matchup at home against the Cavaliers, who are close to the league average in pace, rebounding rate, and defensive rating. Detroit’s team total is 2 points lower than their season average. Isaiah Stewart is still suspended, but everyone else should be available.

Cade Cunningham is as expensive as we’ve seen him this season, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not viable on this slate. He has had a high floor all season and has topped 64 fantasy points in 2 of his last 4 games. The only other players on the roster with minute projections higher than 26 are Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris. The former has a tough matchup and feels overpriced, while the latter doesn’t offer much upside.

The way I see it, it’s Cunningham or bust when it comes to the Pistons.

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