NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, March 22nd
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!
As always, thanks for making this a part of your daily routine. We have reached the point of the season where motivations for teams are very clear — some are fighting for seeding, some are prioritizing health over wins, some are hoping to tank for a better draft pick, and some are more concerned with their pending vacation than their play on the court. This is one of the reasons why I try to show where teams are in the standings and what they have to play for in the team previews.
We have 8 games on the schedule tonight, and like many nights, FanDuel and DraftKings are rolling out different-sized slates. FanDuel has left the 3 late games off their main slate, while DraftKings has included them in their main slate. We’ve seen DraftKings roll out no late swap the last few Fridays, but they are back to having late swap for tonight. Only one team is playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Pelicans), but 4 teams are playing in the front end of a back-to-back (Celtics, Raptors, Spurs, Blazers).
Cheers to the weekend!
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, March 22nd
Slate Overview
- 8-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Toronto Raptors
- 7:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
- 8:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs
- 8:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat
- 8:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Minnesota Timberwolves
- 10:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Golden State Warriors
- 10:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers
- 10:30 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Celtics, Raptors, Spurs, Blazers
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Pelicans
- 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
Oklahoma City Thunder (at TOR): The Thunder have won 7 of their last 10 games and are currently one loss ahead of the Nuggets for the top seed in the Western Conference. They draw an elite matchup against the Raptors, who have been giving up fantasy points in bunches over the last few weeks. The Thunder are one of only two teams on the slate with a higher team total than their average points per game on the season. Even though they are expected to be at full strength tonight, they are still one of the top teams to target. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offers one of the highest floor/ceiling combos on the slate, Chet Holmgren has averaged 46 fantasy points over his last 4 games (and joined Anthony Edwards as the second player to have a nasty dunk against the Jazz), and Jalen Williams is affordable for the type of upside he brings to the table. All three are viable tonight.
Toronto Raptors (vs. OKC): The Raptors have lost 8 games in a row and are not going to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Their matchup against the Thunder is a pace-up one, but Oklahoma City is 5th in defensive rating on the season. I wouldn’t call this a particularly good or bad matchup for fantasy production. The Raptors have a team total that is 5.3 points below their season average, but that has more to do with the fact that they have ruled out Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Scottie Barnes, and Chris Boucher. We’ve seen the salaries for the Raptors increase over the last few slates, so there aren’t any glaring value plays here. With that said, Bruce Brown, Gary Trent, and Kelly Olynyk should lead the way in terms of usage. All three offer high ceilings at their respective price points.
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