Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, March 3rd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-03-03 21:34:37 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!

I hope everyone got their week started off on the right foot. I put far too much faith in all of the Nuggets not named Jamal Murray last night, and that ultimately cost me. With so many teams tanking, there are going to be a lot of tricky slates the rest of the season. The only choice we have is to embrace the chaos because we aren’t going to see predictable rotations and results until the playoffs start.

We have 10 games on the schedule tonight, but FanDuel and DraftKings are rolling out 8-game main slates. We will focus our attention on the first 8 games, but the projections team will have you covered for the last 2 games of the night if you are planning to play the late slate.

Let’s dive into the games.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, March 3rd

Slate Overview

• 8-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic
  - 7:30 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Miami Heat
  - 7:30 pm ET – New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors
  - 8:00 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 8:00 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 10:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers (not on main slate)
  - 11:00 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings (not on main slate)
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:30 PM ET

PJ Washington has been upgraded to probable. This is the best-case scenario, as now we can fade the Mavericks as a whole. Klay Thompson is doubtful, but that doesn’t change anything for me on this slate.

Jamir Watkins, Kyshawn George, and Tristan Vukcevic have been ruled out, while Anthony Gill is questionable. We might get another night of Julian Reese starting at minimum salary.

Team Previews

Dallas Mavericks (at CHA)

The Mavericks were sellers at the trade deadline and have been tanking ever since. They draw a difficult matchup on the road against the Hornets, who are 4th in pace and 22nd in points allowed per game. Dallas has a team total that is 5 points lower than their season average. Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively, and Marvin Bagley are out. Cooper Flagg is doubtful. Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, and Moussa Cisse are questionable.

As it stands with Thompson and Marshall in the projections, there’s not a single player on the Mavericks who has an RGValue close to zero, let alone a positive one. This will be one of the easiest teams on the slate to fade if Marshall is active. If he’s out, I still don’t plan to prioritize anyone from Dallas. However, his absence would open up usage for the rest of the starters.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. DAL)

The Hornets are likely headed for the Play-In Tournament, so we don’t have to worry about them tanking the rest of the way. They have a favorable matchup at home against the Hornets, who are 4th in pace and 22nd in points allowed per game. Charlotte’s team total is 5 points higher than their season average. Coby White is out.

I’ve had a tough time trusting the Hornets over the last few weeks. They have a lot of mouths to feed in the offense, and they play at a slow pace. Brandon Miller has topped 50 fantasy points in 2 of his last 7 games and continues to have a high usage rate. He’s a strong tournament play, but I would look elsewhere for cash games. LaMelo Ball has an even wider range of outcomes, but we know he offers 60+ fantasy point upside. He’s firmly in play for large-field tournaments. Moussa Diabate has quietly topped 34 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games and makes for a decent lineup filler.

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