Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, March 24th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-03-24 17:14:01 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 Tuesday!

The NBA tanking issue continues to rear its ugly head. There were 5 games last night that were decided by at least 20 points, and a few of them were decided by more than 30 points. It’s not a great product right now. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I get the feeling there will be some changes in the near future.

As for tonight, there are only 4 games on the schedule. It’s a nice break from the larger slates, and it allows us an opportunity to dive a little deeper into each team preview. I won’t be on the live shows tonight, but Dean, Kyle, and Chop will have you covered for Crunch Time at 6:00 PM ET.

We are officially 16 days away from the start of the Masters, which means you have two weeks to sharpen your DFS skills. I have a few new metrics that I added to my PGA DFS model. Instead of raw ratings, I now have cash game and GPP ratings as well. This helps safe plays and high-ceiling plays. It’ll be out later today.

Let’s dive into this 4-gamer!

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, March 24th

Slate Overview

• 4-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at New York Knicks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 11:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

Sacramento Kings (at CHA)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Kings, who have nothing to play for at this point in the season. They are massive 17-point road underdogs in Charlotte, which means the blowout risk is high. To make matters worse, this is a tough matchup. The Hornets are 25th in pace and 8th in points allowed per game. Sacramento’s team total is 106 points, which is 5 points lower than their season average. Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Zach LaVine, De’Andre Hunter, and Nique Clifford are out, while Killian Hayes and Precious Achiuwa are questionable.

The Kings don’t project well in the context of tonight’s slate, but we shouldn’t necessarily cross them off our list of potential targets. If Hayes is unable to suit up, Devin Carter and Malik Monk would see more playing time. Carter has quietly averaged over a fantasy point per minute this season and is only $4,100 on DraftKings. Monk has struggled with consistency, but he has topped 45 fantasy points in 2 of the last 4 games.

DeMar DeRozan has had a couple of big games recently, but we only have him projected for 27 minutes. Sacramento’s frontcourt is interesting here, especially if Achiuwa is ruled out. Daeqwon Plowden has topped 20 fantasy points in 7 straight games, Maxime Raynaud has topped 40 fantasy points in 3 straight games, and Dylan Cardwell has averaged 1.01 DK / 1.09 FD points per minute.

I doubt I’ll prioritize anyone on the Kings if Hayes and Achiuwa are both active.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. SAC)

The Hornets have won 7 of their last 10 games. They are 10th in the East, but they are only 2 games away from the 6th seed. They are 17-point home favorites against the Kings, who are 15th in pace and 28th in points allowed per game. This is a good matchup in other aspects as well, as Sacramento is 29th in both rebounding rate and 3-point percentage allowed. Charlotte’s team total is 123 points, which is 7 points higher than their season average. All of their key players should be available.

This game could easily be over by halftime, but we don’t have a ton of options to choose from. Additionally, you can make a strong case that Charlotte’s upside makes up for the blowout risk. LaMelo Ball is no stranger to putting up a lot of fantasy points in a short amount of time, which makes him an appealing tournament play. He has scored at least 43 fantasy points in 3 of the last 4 games. Kon Knueppel’s price has come down. This is a good breakout spot after some middling outings over the last few weeks.

Brandon Miller has been volatile, but he has topped 43 fantasy points in 3 of the last 7 games. He should be more efficient in this elite matchup at home. Miles Bridges is often the forgotten player from the Hornets, but he’s an interesting way to get different on tonight’s slate. Moussa Diabate has a good chance for a double-double against a bad rebounding team. For tournaments, Coby White is cheap and has topped 30 fantasy points in each of the last 4 games.

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