NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Tuesday, March 5th
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 Tuesday!
Thanks to the Jazz, I was able to scrape out a profit on last night’s NBA slate. We have a full schedule of games on tap this evening. FanDuel and DraftKings have both decided to leave the PHX/DEN game off their main slates, which means we have 8 games to break down this evening. We will quickly cover the PHX/DEN game in the team previews section but will focus most of our attention on the main slate. We only have one team playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Nets), while five teams are playing in the front end of a back-to-back (Magic, Cavaliers, Sixers, Hawks, Rockets).
I’m happy to report that no progress has been made on my cold plunge room. They said to leave the flooring in the room for at least 48 hours before installing it, which means a two-day break from the project. Music to my ears.
Let’s dive into the games.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, March 5th
Slate Overview
- 9-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets
- 7:30 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors
- 7:30 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers
- 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat
- 7:30 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Brooklyn Nets
- 7:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
- 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets
- 8:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Dallas Mavericks
- 10:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Magic, Cavaliers, Sixers, Hawks, Rockets
- Teams in the second half of a back-to-back: Nets
- 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
Orlando Magic (at CHA): We start tonight’s slate with the Magic, who have won 8 of their last 10 games. They haven’t been great on the road this season (14-18) but have a winnable game tonight against the Hornets. Charlotte has been an excellent matchup for fantasy production this season but is ranked 5th in defensive rating over the last 10 games. The market seems to realize this, as Orlando’s team total is 2.6 points lower than their season average. Markelle Fultz (questionable) is the only player on the injury report here. If he is unable to suit up, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony will both see a small uptick in minutes. There’s not much that stands out from a projections standpoint. You can look to Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner in tournaments, but there are higher-upside plays available tonight.
Charlotte Hornets (vs. ORL): The Hornets have been playing a little better recently. Their defense has improved, and they have won 5 of their last 10 games. They draw a difficult matchup tonight against the Magic, who are 26th in pace and 4th in defensive rating this season. The Hornets have the lowest total on the board at 100.3 points. LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Seth Curry, and Cody Martin have all been ruled out of tonight’s game, while Nick Richards is listed as questionable. It’s not a great spot for the team as a whole, but Vasilije Micic could have a path to minutes in the 30s tonight. He’s affordable on all sites and has averaged 0.79 DK / 0.77 FD points per minute this season.
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