NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Sunday, February 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 Sunday everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend.
I am filling in for Taylor Smith today. There are 11 games on the schedule, but as is usually the case on Sunday, there are games throughout the day. We’ll cover all 11 games in the team previews, but we will focus most of our attention on the 7-game main slate that starts at 7:00 PM ET. FanDuel and DraftKings are in agreement today when it comes to the main slate size and starting time, which always makes it a little easier to cover.
It should be a great day of sports, as we have the final round of the Mexico Open and a NASCAR race. If you play NASCAR DFS and don’t use Stephen Young’s content, you are doing it all wrong. Anyway, let’s dive right into the NBA games for today.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, February 25th
Slate Overview
- 11-game slate
- 1:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers
- 3:30 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns
- 5:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Indiana Pacers
- 6:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- 7:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks
- 7:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors
- 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans
- 7:00 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
- 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz
- 9:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Portland Trail Blazers
- 9:30 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Clippers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Pacers, Kings
- Teams in the second half of a back-to-back: Magic
- 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
Milwaukee Bucks (at PHI): This game starts at 1:00 PM ET, so it is only featured on the all-day and showdown slates. The Bucks draw a decent matchup against the Sixers, a significantly worse defensive team with Joel Embiid out of the lineup. The Bucks are small favorites and have a team total that is 2.3 points below their season average. They are still without Khris Middleton, so here’s a table showing who has benefited the most with him off the floor this season:
Philadelphia 76ers (vs. MIL): The Sixers have struggled without Embiid in the lineup and will be without him again on Sunday. They draw a favorable matchup at home against the Bucks, who are 5th in pace and 17th in defensive rating. Despite missing last year’s MVP, the Sixers have a team total that is only 2.7 points below their season average. Here’s a table showing who has benefited the most with Embiid off the floor this season:
Los Angeles Lakers (at PHO): Much like the first game, the Lakers and Suns are only featured on the all-day and showdown slates. The Lakers have struggled on the road this season and have a mediocre matchup at best today against the Suns. The Lakers come into the game as 4-point underdogs but have a team total that is 1.5 points above their season average. Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood have already been ruled out, while LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both listed as questionable. Based on the current spread and total, the market seems to think both superstars will be active for this one. As a general rule of thumb, when one of the two is out, we can lock in the other when it comes to DFS.
Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers
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