NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Thursday, March 21st
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 Thursday!
The NCAA Tournament kicks off today, so I will be sweating all of the games while keeping this article up to date with the latest injury news. I’ll keep the introduction short and sweet today, as we don’t have a lot of time to waste. These college basketball games aren’t going to watch themselves. If you are looking to bet on the games in addition to sweating your brackets, make sure to check out ScoresAndOdds. There are a ton of picks up already from several of our college basketball experts.
As for tonight, there are 7 games on the schedule. The final game of the night starts a full hour and a half later than the rest, so FanDuel and DraftKings both decided to keep it off their main slates. This means our all of our focus for this article will be on the 6-game main slate. Four teams are playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Bucks, Kings, Jazz, Suns) and one team is playing in the front end of a back-to-back (Pelicans).
Let’s dive into the slate. I also need to run to the grocery store at some point today and pick up some Girl Scout Cookies. It’s Thin Mint season.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, March 21st
Slate Overview
- 7-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Orlando Magic
- 7:00 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Washington Wizards
- 8:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Houston Rockets
- 8:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks
- 8:30 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks
- 9:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Denver Nuggets
- 10:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Pelicans
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Bucks, Kings, Jazz, Suns
- 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
New Orleans Pelicans (at ORL): We start the slate with the Pelicans, who have won 8 of their last 10 games. They are 5th in the Western Conference standings and have a better record on the road than they do at home. They have a difficult matchup for fantasy purposes, as the Magic are 26th in pace and 3rd in defensive rating. The Pelicans are 3-point favorites here but have a team total that is 11 points lower than their season average. Dyson Daniels and Matt Ryan have both been ruled out, but they don’t change much in the context of tonight’s slate. Zion Williamson has scored at least 43 fantasy points in each of his last 6 games. His efficiency is through the roof (61% or better from the floor in 5 straight games) and all of his teammates are giving quotes about how focused he has been on and off the floor. I don’t love the game environment but don’t mind using Zion in cash games or tournaments. The rest of the Pelicans are fairly easy fades.
Orlando Magic (vs. NOP): The Magic have won 8 of their last 10 games and have moved up to 5th in the East. They are 24-9 at home this season. They have a tough test this evening, as they host the Pelicans, who are 16th in pace and 6th in defensive rating. The Magic have a team total of 102 points, which is the 2nd lowest on the board and 8.8 points below their season average. To make matters worse, they don’t have a single player on the injury report. As of now, there’s not one player with an RGValue better than -3.2 on the Magic. This is an easy team to cross off our list of potential targets.
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