Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, February 26th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-02-26 22:32:47 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. 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 Thursday!

The NBA is in a sad state at the moment. Half the league is tanking, and half of the players in the league are resting on a nightly basis. I don’t know what the answer is, but the NBA has a big problem on its hands. I miss the days when we only had a couple of big injuries per slate. I also miss the days of teams playing their starters around 30+ minutes. These deep and balanced rotations make DFS extremely tricky.

However, we have to play the hand that we are dealt, and we are all in the same boat. For tonight, there are 10 games on the schedule. FanDuel has only included the first 7 games on their main slate, while DraftKings has only included the first 9 games on their main slate.

We are almost to the weekend. Let’s dive into the games.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, February 26th

Slate Overview

• 9-game main slate on DK, 7-game main slate on FD
  - 7:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Orlando Magic
  - 7:30 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:30 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz (not on FD main slate)
  - 9:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns (not on FD main slate)
  - 10:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Clippers (not on main slate)
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:45 PM ET

Jalen Johnson is out for the Hawks. Fire up those Atlanta stacks.

Tristan Vukcevic will play for the Wizards.

Amen Thompson will play for the Rockets.

Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson are both questionable for the Spurs.

Team Previews

Miami Heat (at PHI)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Heat, who travel to Philly to take on the Sixers, who are about as mediocre a matchup as you are going to find. Miami’s team total is nearly identical to their season average. Nikola Jovic is out, while Davion Mitchell is questionable.

While the matchup isn’t bad, the Heat aren’t a team to prioritize. Even if Mitchell is out, there’s not much that stands out when it comes to the projections. The Heat have a deep and balanced rotation, and almost all of their key players should be active. If forced to choose one player here, I would side with Bam Adebayo. He’s affordable and has topped 44 fantasy points in 3 of the last 6 games.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. MIA)

The Sixers get to face the fastest-paced team in the NBA, and they are playing at home. Philly’s team total is 4 points higher than their season average. Paul George is out, but everyone else should be available for the Sixers.

Tyrese Maxey has topped 60 fantasy points in back-to-back games and should benefit from a pace-up game at home. We should have a ton of value to choose from, so the stars and scrubs build is firmly in play. Joel Embiid is also viable after topping 49 fantasy points in 7 of his last 9 games. I like the idea of building with one of Maxey or Embiid. The rest of the Sixers can be avoided, as there are better value plays elsewhere.

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