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

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-03-27 22:47:18 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!

We have officially made it to the weekend. Life is good. Baseball is back, we have 4 NCAA Tournament games tonight, we are in the middle of the cut sweat at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and we have a big NBA slate to look forward to.

With baseball back, our live shows are focusing mostly on MLB content. I’ll do my best to keep everything in this article updated right up until lock.

There are 10 games on the schedule, but we only have to worry about the first 7 games from a DFS perspective. Let’s dive into the team previews.

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

Slate Overview

• 7-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors
  - 9:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Golden State Warriors (not on main slate)
  - 10:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers (not on main slate)
  - 10:30 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers (not on main slate)
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:10 PM ET

Jaylen Brown has been ruled out for the Celtics. Derrick White and Neemias Queta will play.

Anfernee Simons is out for the Bulls. This doesn’t change much on the slate.

Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy have officially been ruled out.

Jock Landale is now questionable for the Hawks.

Team Previews

Los Angeles Clippers (at IND)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Clippers, who are 8th in the West. They can’t move up the standings, but they can easily drop to 9th or 10th, so they still have something to play for. They draw an excellent matchup against the Pacers, who are 29th in rebounding rate and 27th in points allowed per game. The Clippers’ team total is 10 points higher than their season average. Bradley Beal and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are out, while Jordan Miller is questionable.

Kawhi Leonard is in a good spot on paper, but he’s played 30 or fewer minutes in 4 of the last 5 games. To make matters worse, he’s priced at a premium on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Darius Garland has topped 43 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games, but he’s also priced up on both sites. My favorite route here is to target Bennedict Mathurin in his first revenge game against his former team. He has flashed 40+ fantasy point upside off the bench, and the Clippers might keep him in the game for a few extra minutes if he’s playing well in a blowout. John Collins and Brook Lopez would have more appeal on a short slate.

Indiana Pacers (vs. LAC)

The Pacers have long been eliminated from the playoffs and own the worst record in basketball. They have no incentive to win games the rest of the way. They have a mediocre matchup against the Clippers and enter the game with a team total that is 3 points higher than their season average. Johnny Furphy and Ivica Zubac are out, Jalen Slawson is doubtful, and Obi Toppin is questionable.

Andrew Nembhard is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue. He feels underpriced compared to his average price point this season, but he comes with more risk than usual. The Pacers are losing games on purpose, and this is a below-average matchup. With that said, Nembhard has scored 47, 43, and 39 fantasy points over the last 3 games. He’s worth a look in tournaments. The only other player on my radar here is Jay Huff, whom we have projected for 29 minutes. He has averaged 1.02 DK / 1.08 FD points per minute this season.

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