NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Monday, February 26th
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 Monday, everyone.
I hope you all had a relaxing and/or productive weekend. I’m not going to lie. I spent most of my weekend playing DFS and betting on sports. I did finish some painting, but I don’t think I did enough for it to be considered a productive weekend.
The highlight of the weekend was building a big fort with my little one. We turned the entire family room into a giant fort by using every pillow, blanket, and spare mattress that we could find in the house. I am constantly second-guessing myself as a parent, and one thing that I want to work on is enjoying moments without constantly checking my phone. It’s extremely tough when I’m constantly sweating some type of action, but I think it’s important. I put my phone and his tablet away last night, and we had a blast. Time goes by too fast not to enjoy the small moments.
We get to ease into the week with a 4-game NBA slate tonight. Let’s dive right into it.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, February 26th
Slate Overview
- 4-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers
- 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks
- 8:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Memphis Grizzlies
- 10:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Sacramento Kings
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Pistons, Knicks, Nets, Heat
- Teams in the second half of a back-to-back: Pacers, Kings
- 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
Toronto Raptors (at IND): We kick off the slate with the Raptors, who seem more than content with missing the playoffs this season. They have won 2 games in a row but are still 4 full games behind the Hawks for the last playoff spot in the east. Tonight they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers, who are 2nd in pace and 26th in defensive rating. The Raptors should have everyone available tonight. They boast a total that is 5.6 points above their season average, which is the best mark on the slate. As it stands this morning, we have seven players on this team with an ownership projection between 13% and 21%. RJ Barrett has been hit or miss recently, topping 39 fantasy points or being held under 29 fantasy points in each of his last 7 games. Immanuel Quickley has been a little more consistent and should benefit from the pace-up nature of this matchup. Scottie Barnes can fill up the stat sheet and has scored at least 45 fantasy points in 5 of his last 7 games. Jakob Poeltl is unlikely to make my builds, but I don’t mind rounding out lineups with the likes of Gary Trent, Kelly Olynyk, and Bruce Brown (revenge game).
Indiana Pacers (vs. TOR): The Pacers are playing in the second half of a back-to-back after picking up a win over the Mavericks last night. They don’t have to travel between games and have one of the youngest rosters in the league, so the back-to-back isn’t a major concern. They draw an underrated matchup against the Raptors, who are 26th in defensive rating over the last 10 games. The Pacers are 6.5-point favorites and have a total that is 2.3 points above their season average. Aaron NeSmith is not expected to play tonight, which should mean another start for Bennedict Mathurin. He has averaged 33 minutes and 37 fantasy points in his last 2 games. Tyrese Haliburton is no longer on a minute restriction and deserves consideration at a sub-$10,000 price point on both FanDuel and DraftKings. I usually hit the self-exclude button when it comes to Myles Turner because I can never get him right. However, he has topped 34 fantasy points in 6 of his last 7 games. I don’t have much interest in the other options here. Pascal Siakam hasn’t shown much upside on the Pacers, Andrew Nembhard isn’t exactly cheap, and it’s tough to trust anyone on the bench right now.
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