Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, February 22nd

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2026-02-22 21:12:12 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, Taylor Smith takes the reins. 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 Sunday! I’m sitting here at my desk watching the American hockey lads take on our Canadian frenemies with a gold medal on the line while also attempting to focus on the work at hand. Turns out, it’s a rather difficult endeavor! That Connor Hellebuyck may have a future in this game.

Anyway, this is a basketball article, so let’s talk about that. We’re looking at a 5-game main slate on DraftKings for the second consecutive day, though FanDuel has decided to tack the late-night Magic/Clippers clash onto their main docket. Both slates tip off a bit earlier than usual at 6 PM ET as well. That means today’s Crunch Time will also be an hour early, starting at 5 PM ET, so tune in!

In the meantime, I’ll be here providing any and all news updates, as always. Let’s go!

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, February 22nd

Slate Overview

• Slate size – DraftKings: 5 games, FanDuel: 6 games
  - 6:00 pm ET – Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards
  - 6:30 pm ET – Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns
  - 8:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls
  - 9:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Clippers
• 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

Charlotte Hornets (at WAS)

The Hornets have been a pleasant surprise this season. Turns out, drafting a bunch of good players in the lottery eventually leads to good results! They have dropped back-to-back games coming out of the All-Star break, though they’re in a favorable spot to bounce back tonight against the tanking Wizards. Charlotte is a healthy 11.5-point favorite with a 119 implied team total on the road. Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate remain suspended, while Coby White is still out with his calf injury.

Washington is an elite matchup in every way. Brandon Miller (+4.6%) has seen the biggest usage boost of any Hornet with Bridges and Diabate off the floor, though he and LaMelo are both in the 34% range. Miller has generally shown the higher ceiling, with Ball typically held to around 30 minutes. Melo is really popping on FD at $8,400, while Miller makes more sense at the pesky small forward position on DK. Kon Knueppel (1.01 FP/minute) is just as consistent as they come, and he’s the cheapest of Charlotte’s big three. Great play in all formats, particularly on FD, where he has SG/SF eligibility.

Ryan Kalkbrenner has been starting in place of the suspended Diabate, while Grant Williams should return and start in Bridges’ spot. Williams (0.96 FP/minute) has been productive in this role, and he’s still under $5,000 on both sites. Kalkbrenner has topped 29 minutes in both games after the break. He’s a reasonable value option at center.

Washington Wizards (vs. CHA)

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