NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, March 1st
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 Friday! Well, for everyone that didn’t roster Eric Cole in PGA DFS anyway, but let’s not focus on the negatives.
The big story tonight is that DraftKings is rolling out a non-late swap slate. I’ve talked about it a bit in this article already, but this is a change that I love to see. Ultimately, the sites aren’t going to make everyone happy. I think not having late swap is better for the masses because very few use that feature anyway. The only time most use late swap is if one of their players is a late scratch. The very best DFS players are constantly looking for swaps and grinding out every small edge they can find. In theory, this move should benefit the casual DFS player. Everyone will uproar the first time a chalky player gets scratched after lock, but remember that those are going to even out over the course of the season.
The real reason why I’m excited about no late swap is being able to set a lineup and forget it. I only have one kid, and I feel like I am constantly busy. I take him to sports camps and ninja warrior classes three times a week and try to get out and do something each weekend. It’s tough to constantly monitor injuries and potential swaps when you aren’t by a computer. I’m also hoping it will help with my goal of not being glued to my phone as much. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to build a lineup and not check it until the end of the night. We’ll see if DraftKings sticks with this or if they bring back late swap, but I’m excited for tonight.
As far as the slate goes, FanDuel and DraftKings are both rolling with a 7-game main slate and a 2-game late slate.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, March 1st
Slate Overview
- 9-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
- 7:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Philadelphia 76ers
- 7:30 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics
- 7:30 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors
- 8:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Pelicans
- 8:00 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Minnesota Timberwolves
- 8:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Memphis Grizzlies
- 10:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls
- 10:30 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Clippers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Blazers, Grizzlies
- Teams in the second half of a back-to-back: Bucks, Hornets, Warriors, Wizards
- 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 DET): We kick off the slate with the Cavaliers, who are 38-20 on the season with the 2nd-best point differential in the Eastern Conference. They should have no problem adding a win to their resume this evening as they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons. This is one of the best possible matchups for fantasy production, and the Cavaliers come into the game with a total that is a point higher than their season average. We have a couple of injuries to monitor here, as Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert are both listed as questionable. If Mitchell is out, all of the starters will see a boost in usage, and Isaac Okoro would likely draw the spot start. Given the matchup against Detroit, this would become one of the top teams to stack in Mitchell’s absence. Let’s take a wait-and-see approach for now.
Detroit Pistons (vs. CLE): The Pistons are TRENDING! They picked up a win the other night against the Bulls and are now 9-49 on the season. They have a tough matchup tonight against the Cavaliers, who are 22nd in pace and 3rd in defensive rating. The Pistons are 9-point underdogs and have a total that is 6 points below their season average. Marcus Sasser is the only player on the injury report, so Detroit should be at full strength for this one. The matchup should be enough to scare people away from Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. They have averaged 48 and 40 fantasy points over their last 4 games and are worth a look in tournaments.
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