Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, December 27th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-12-27 23:15:29 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. On weekends, international pop icon Taylor Smith takes the reins. 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 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 Saturday! Last night’s slate was a wild one. Scores in the low 300s weren’t enough to even min-cash in most contests on DK, so we’ll see what’s in store for tonight. We’re looking at twin 8-game slates on DraftKings and FanDuel, with several teams playing for the second time in as many nights. We’ll also have a few of the teams that appeared on Christmas back in our lives, so should be a fun one.

As usual, there should be plenty of injury news through which to sort. Let’s dive in.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, December 27th

Slate Overview

• Slate size – 8 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 7:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Orlando Magic
  - 8:00 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 pm ET – Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.

Team Previews

Phoenix Suns (at NOP)

This one is just a straight rematch of a game we had on last night’s slate. The Suns are favored by 5.5 points in New Orleans after a 115-108 win over the Pelicans last night. Phoenix was down Jalen Green and Grayson Allen for that one, and we’re expecting Mark Williams to join them both on the sidelines this evening. The Suns’ 121 implied team total is among the highest marks on the slate.

With Williams doubtful, we’re projecting Oso Ighodaro ($3,500 DK, $4,100 FD) to crack the starting unit, with Nick Richards backing him up. Ighodaro has played upwards of 30 minutes in starts already this season, and he’s been passable on a per-minute basis (0.9) with Williams off the floor. Solid salary-saver, especially against a Pelicans team that’s struggled to defend the rim all season. Devin Booker (34%) and Dillon Brooks (32.9%) are both generating heavy usage with Allen and Green off the court this season. Booker just looks too cheap at $8,600 on DK, even if he hasn’t flashed a consistent ceiling this season. Brooks is more of a filler play, though there’s sneaky upside there.

Phoenix has a bunch of other secondary pieces – Collin Gillespie, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn, Jordan Goodwin – logging consistent minutes. Gillespie (1.17 FP/minute) is easily the most appealing of the bunch, though he’ll presumably come with a lot of ownership once again.

New Orleans Pelicans (vs. PHO)

The Pels have played better basketball of late, though they’re still just 8-24 on the season and own the 2nd-worst record in the Western Conference. They’re only slight home underdogs in a rematch against Phoenix after last night’s defeat. We’re not expecting Herbert Jones to play, while Dejounte Murray remains sidelined.

Zion Williamson is getting pretty cheap around the industry as he continues to play off the bench. His 27 minutes last night were his most since his return from injury, and we know he’s productive enough (1.28 FP/minute) to still offer upside even in limited floor time. His salary of $7,300 on both sites is appealing; I’m just a bit skeptical of the minutes if he plays on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. Zion’s presence is also enough to eat into the usage for the likes of Trey Murphy and Jeremiah Fears, while Derik Queen has topped 30 minutes just once in the last 4 games. Murphy, Fears, and especially Queen will all look like significantly more appealing options here if Zion winds up missing this one.

One player worth a mention is Jordan Poole, who logged 30 minutes last night and is still priced in the mid-$5,000s on both sites. Poole has a wide range of outcomes thanks to his erratic shooting, but we know he’s not afraid to let it fly while he’s out there. Poole is a solid GPP option if he flies under the radar from an ownership standpoint.

Denver Nuggets (at ORL)

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