Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, April 27th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-04-27 15:39:08 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 Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The Zurich Classic typically isn’t a must-watch golf event, but it was different this year with Matt Fitzpatrick trying to earn his little brother a PGA TOUR card. The brothers let their lead slip on Sunday, but Matt hit an incredible bunker shot on the final hole to set up a tap-in birdie for his brother Alex, who now has full-time status on TOUR. It’s a great story in golf if you want to read more about it.

A few days ago, it was looking like there would be a few upsets in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Celtics won both games in Philly, the Knicks evened the series at 2 games apiece, the Spurs completed two big second-half comebacks against the Blazers, and the Wolves suffered two brutal injuries in Game 4. We’ll see how the next few games play out, but I’m hoping we see at least one or two Game 7s.

We have 3 games on the schedule this evening. The Pistons are looking to avoid falling behind 1-3 in their series against the Magic, the Thunder are looking to sweep the Suns, and the Nuggets are hoping to win the first of 3 straight games against the Wolves. It should be a fun night of games, although 2 of them feature double-digit spreads.

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

Slate Overview

• 3-game main slate
  - 8:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic
  - 9:30 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:30 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
• 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

Detroit Pistons (at ORL)

We kick off tonight’s 3-game slate with the Pistons, who find themselves in a 1-2 hole after losing Games 1 and 3 in the series. The top seed in the East could be in real danger if they don’t pick up a win in Game 4. The offense has been the main issue, as they’ve been held to 105 points or fewer in every game in the series. The Magic aren’t a great matchup by any means (13th in both defensive rating and points allowed per game), but it’s surprising to see Detroit’s offense struggle like this. They enter tonight’s game as 2.5-point favorites and have a team total of 108.5 points, which is the 3rd highest on the board. Kevin Huerter is listed as questionable.

Cade Cunningham has averaged 40 minutes and 50 fantasy points per game in the series. He’s had a usage rate of at least 35% in every game, and he’s logged at least 40 minutes in every game. Once again, he’s my favorite spend on the slate. I noted that Duncan Robinson was a great bounce-back candidate in Game 2, and he finished the game with 28 points. After struggling in Game 3, I’m tempted to go back to the well at low projected ownership. He’s cheap and could see upwards of 30 minutes if he plays well. Ausar Thompson finally got the big minutes (37) we have been waiting for, and he put up 45 fantasy points in Game 3.

My lack of interest in Tobias Harris has really cost me on a few slates, as he’s topped 34 fantasy points in every game this series. I still think a dud performance could be on the horizon, but he’s regularly playing 35+ minutes and regularly has a usage rate over 20%. While Robinson, Thompson, and Harris have all been great this series, Jalen Duren has been held under 30 fantasy points in all 3 games. Until something changes, I’m happy to be underweight on him at this price point. I don’t have any interest in Detroit’s bench, as we won’t have anyone projected to play more than 18 minutes.

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