NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Monday, March 25th
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!
It is Spring Break for the little man, so he’s at home with me all week. If you have any ideas to keep him entertained, please let me know. It’s currently snowing here in Utah, so indoor activities are preferred. A lot of the favorites in the NCAA Tournament won over the weekend, so hopefully, a lot of your brackets are still intact. I picked Auburn to go to the Final Four in my main bracket, so I’m going to need a lot to go right to have a chance at cashing. Personally, I’m rooting for NC State to make a deep run. They had to win the ACC Championship to get into the dance, and their big man is fun to watch.
As for tonight in the association, we have 11 games on the schedule. FanDuel and DraftKings are both rolling out a 9-game main slate (leaving off the PHI/SAC and IND/LAC games), so we’ll focus most of our attention on those games. We have 5 teams playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Cavaliers, Pistons, Sixers, Pacers, Clippers) and 2 teams playing in the front end of a back-to-back (Mavericks, Kings). More than ever, we need to keep a close eye on the injury news throughout the day. There are a lot of teams with little or nothing to play for at this stage of the season.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, March 25th
Slate Overview
- 11-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers
- 7:30 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors
- 7:30 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks
- 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks
- 8:00 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls
- 8:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs
- 8:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Houston Rockets
- 9:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
- 9:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets
- 10:00 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Sacramento Kings
- 10:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Clippers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Mavericks, Kings
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Cavaliers, Pistons, Sixers, Pacers, Clippers
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
1:45 PM ET – There were some important updates after completing the team previews. Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for the Spurs. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have both been ruled out for the Pistons. Alex Caruso is now questionable for the Bulls. All of this will be taken into account in the first set of rankings.
Team Previews
Charlotte Hornets (at CLE): Let’s kick this unusually large slate off with the Hornets, who have lost 8 of their last 10 games. They are 36 games below .500 overall and have the worst record in the NBA. Tonight they travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers, who are 25th in pace and 4th in defensive rating. This struggling offense will likely struggle once again. The Hornets are double-digit underdogs and have a total that is 9.9 points below their season average. LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Cody Martin, Bryce McGowens, and Seth Curry have all been ruled out. This many injuries typically open up value, but these five players have been out for a significant amount of time. There’s not a single player on the Hornets with a positive RGValue in the projections. I’m fine being underweight or fully-fading the Hornets tonight.
Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. CHA): The Cavaliers have lost 7 of their last 10 games and are in danger of falling out of the top four in the Eastern Conference. They seem to hit a wall at this point of every season and can’t afford to lose home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. While the Hornets play at a slow pace, they aren’t any good defensively. The Cavaliers are large favorites and have a total that is 4.6 points below their season average. Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Dean Wade have been ruled out, while Evan Mobley could rest or be limited in the second half of the back-to-back. I worry about the competitiveness of this game as a whole, but Caris LeVert, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen are all strong tournament plays. Allen might be my favorite of the three, as the Hornets are 29th in rebounding rate this season.
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
