NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Saturday, October 28th
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? On weekends, jack-of-all-trades Taylor Smith takes the reins. 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.
The first Saturday of the season brings our first reasonably-sized slate of the year as well. After 2 games, then 12 games, then 2 games, then 11 games, we’re right in the sweet spot with 7 games on the schedule for tonight. Six of the games start within an hour of lineup lock at 7 pm ET, while we’ve got a lone island game tipping off at 10 ET.
We finally had some late-breaking injury news last night with Darius Garland getting ruled out at almost exactly 7 pm. Late swap is more important in NBA than any other sport with so many moving parts and general uncertainty, and it just so happens we’ve got Garland and the Cavs on tonight’s slate as well. They’ll host the Pacers in a game that starts at 7:30, so we could get the Garland news one way or the other around the same time tonight.
Reading Meansy’s Core Plays has been a huge part of my NBA DFS process for years, so it’s quite a thrill for me to have the chance to take over on weekends this season. Let’s do this thing and win some money tonight, shall we?
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, October 28th
Slate Overview
- 7-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Washington Wizards
- 7:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at New Orleans Pelicans
- 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
- 7:30 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors
- 7:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers
- 8:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Minnesota Timberwolves
- 10:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Philadelphia
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, NY Knicks, Cleveland, Toronto, Miami, Utah
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
Team Previews
Memphis Grizzlies (at WAS): The Grizz fell to 0-2 on the season with a home loss to the Nuggets last night, and tonight they’ll hit the road for the first time for a date with the Wizards. They’ll again be without Ja Morant, Steven Adams, Santi Aldama, Brandon Clarke, and Luke Kennard, so they’ll be a primary source of value on this slate once more. The matchup is also excellent against a Wizards team that allowed a whopping 143 points to the Pacers in their opener. Jaren Jackson and Desmond Bane will be focal points offensively with Morant suspended.
Washington Wizards (vs MEM): The new-look Wizards got obliterated by the Pacers the other night, though they’re only 1.5-point underdogs against Memphis at home tonight. Jordan Poole (35%) and Kyle Kuzma (32%) posted massive usage rates in that game, while we also saw solid per-minute production from Tyus Jones and Deni Avdija in starting roles. The salaries are a bit tighter tonight on FanDuel, though the entire starting unit looks a tick too cheap on DraftKings. Even with all of the opportunity cost at center, I have my eye on Daniel Gafford in tournaments.
New York Knicks (at NOP): The Knicks went down to Atlanta and picked up a win over the Hawks last night, and tonight they’ll take on the Pels in the Big Easy. Jalen Brunson has picked up right where he left off as a breakout star last season, while Julius Randle came to within an assist of a triple-double last night. Given the way they’re priced around the industry, I don’t think we’ll find any major priority plays from the Knicks tonight.
New Orleans Pelicans (vs NYK): All eyes were on Zion Williamson the other night in his highly-anticipated return. He led the Pelicans in usage (31%) in 31 minutes of action in the win over Memphis. He and Brandon Ingram (30%) split most of the usage, while CJ McCollum was efficient (1.24 FP/min) in 37 minutes. Zion looks a little cheap on FanDuel at $8,000 tonight, while we can add Jonas Valanciunas to the pile of attractive mid-range centers at $5,800 on DK. Ingram ($8,000) grades out nicely on DK at an $1,100 discount from Williamson as well.
Chicago Bulls (at DET): The Bulls won a weird, low-scoring overtime clash against the Raptors last night, and they’ll head to Detroit for a matchup between teams both playing the second night of a back-to-back. DeMar DeRozan (29%) and Zach LaVine (27%) have predictably soaked up most of the usage thus far, while we’ve seen Coby White (0.92 FP/min) play 31 and 40 (including OT) minutes, respectively, in his first 2 games as the new starting point guard. White is a nice value option in all formats, particularly on DK ($4,800).
Detroit Pistons (vs CHI): The Pistons’ youth movement is in full swing, and it’s finally starting to bear fruit. Cade Cunningham (32.7% usage) is primed for a breakout season if he can stay healthy, while Jalen Duren (1.4 FP/min) has the look of a franchise center early on. Rookie Ausar Thompson (1.02 FP/min) is happy to do the dirty work with limited usage (16%) in a starting role. Alec Burks was the offensive catalyst off the bench in their win over Charlotte last night. We don’t have anyone in this fairly deep rotation projected to play more than 33 minutes, but Duren is a significantly better value on DK ($5,900) than he is on FD ($7,800).
Philadelphia 76ers (at TOR): Philly lost a close one in Milwaukee on Thursday, and tonight they’ll head up to Canada to take on a potentially fatigued Raptors outfit. Joel Embiid predictably shouldered most of the usage (39%) in that game, though he struggled mightily with efficiency. I’ll buy his chances for a bounceback in a more favorable matchup tonight, however. Tyrese Maxey (1.33 FP/min) was stellar in 40 regulation minutes, so he’s already getting his first taste of the patented Nick Nurse Experience. Kelly Oubre was a surprising hero in his team debut in 32 minutes off the bench, while De’Anthony Melton logged 25 in a starting role with James Harden away from the team. Embiid is the priority here, as usual.
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