NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Tuesday, November 21st

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.

Tuesday is usually a slower day on the NBA schedule, but we’ve got a nice little 5-game slate on tap for tonight. These are more In-Season Tournament games, as well, so maybe the teams will take them a bit more seriously than they otherwise would. The Pacers-Hawks game is the one that stands out the most, as the 251 over/under in this one is the highest I can recall seeing all season long. It’s also worth noting that all 10 teams in action tonight are on the front end of a back-to-back, so we’ll see whether the weird scheduling throws a wrench into the proceedings.

I’m in for Noto today, as he agreed to take over Core Play duty this weekend. Thanksgiving, am I right? Let’s see what we’ve got shaking on a Tuesday night, shall we?

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, November 21st

Slate Overview

• 5-game slate
  • 7:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic
  • 7:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
  • 7:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks
  • 9:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns
  • 10:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
• Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Raptors, Magic, Pacers, Hawks, Jazz, Lakers, Suns, Trail Blazers, 76ers, Cavaliers
• Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: None
• NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

6:30 PM ET: The Cavs say Caris LeVert is out tonight, which opens up more usage for Garland and Mobley, primarily. Max Strus is now a very appealing midrange option, while Craig Porter should have more solidified minutes off the bench if you’re in the market for a punt.

4:52 PM ET: After going through a few more builds, I’ve decided to untag Evan Mobley in favor of Jalen Johnson. Mobley’s still a phenomenal play, but the savings you get with Johnson helps to open all sorts of things up. He’s popping into most of my lineups on both DraftKings and FanDuel, and it’s helpful to have the ability to play him at either forward spot on FD.

1:55 PM ET: Not a whole lot going on out there right now, but we gotta pass the time somehow. Going anywhere fun for Thanksgiving? Seen any good shows lately? We’ve watched the first couple of episodes of “The Curse.” If you haven’t read anything about it, nothing will prepare you for the weirdness. If you’re already off work for the week – or even if you’re still “working” this afternoon – come hang out in the NBA channel in the RG Discord and say howdy.

11:55 AM ET: We’ve gotten a couple of tiny little news items. AJ Griffin is out for the Hawks with an illness, but he’s not even in the regular rotation to begin with. Thaddeus Young, meanwhile, is out for the Raps with an illness of his own.

Team Previews

Toronto Raptors (at ORL): Raptors-Magic has the lowest over/under on the board (215.5), and Toronto is a slight road underdog. The Raps are largely healthy these days, with Thaddeus Young (doubtful) and Christian Koloko (out) being the only guys on the injury report. As a result, this team is priced pretty efficiently on both DraftKings and FanDuel, which will likely keep everyone out of Core Play territory unless we get some unexpected news later. The Magic are all the way up to second in the league in defensive efficiency on the season, and there really isn’t much to see with this team.

Orlando Magic (vs. TOR): The Magic are still playing without Wendell Carter and Markelle Fultz, though Jalen Suggs is back in the lineup after missing a game late last week. Franz Wagner ($6,500 DK, $6,800 FD) is the player that stands out the most here given his decent 1.1% usage boost without Carter or Fultz, though Paolo Banchero is worth a look just below $8,000 on both sites. Goga Bitadze (1.15 FP/min) remains a reasonable value starting in WCJ’s place, but it’s not like this matchup is much more favorable. Toronto is seventh in D-rating and just 19th in pace through the season’s first few weeks.

Cleveland Cavaliers (at PHI): The Cavs have been crushed by injuries already, especially in the backcourt. Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Ty Jerome, and Ricky Rubio remain out, while Caris LeVert is questionable after missing Sunday’s game with a knee injury. We saw Dean Wade draw another start with Mitchell out. He played decently well in 24 minutes, though Georges Niang (23) Craig Porter (25), and Sam Merrill (24) all got solid burn off the bench. Porter has been extremely productive (1.25 FP/min) across a 55-minute sample with Mitchell and LeVert on the bench this season, so perhaps he becomes a useful punt if Caris is sidelined again tonight. Darius Garland (32.3%) and Evan Mobley (24.5%) are the primary sources of usage without Mitchell, while even Jarrett Allen gets a decent bump.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. CLE): The Sixers are one of the league’s healthiest teams these days, with only Kelly Oubre still missing from the lineup. As a result, they’re checking in as 7.5-point favorites over the visiting Cavaliers in this one. Joel Embiid (37% usage, 1.75 FP/min) is still doing Joel Embiid things, while Tyrese Maxey (1.21 FP/min) is enjoying a second consecutive breakout season, if that makes sense. Tobias Harris is a lot more DFS-relevant now that James Harden is gone, while even De’Anthony Melton is giving Philly excellent minutes in his new starting role. I’d love to pay up for Embiid in all formats, though we may have to get some injury news in order to comfortably cram him into lineups.

Indiana Pacers (at ATL): As mentioned, this Pacers-Hawks clash has major shootout potential. Indiana is a 4-point underdog on the road, but their 123.75 implied team total is the second-highest on the entire slate. The Pacers and Hawks rank first and third, respectively, in pace. They’re both in the top 5 in the league in offensive rating and in the bottom 10 in defense. Sounds about right. Paying up for Tyrese Haliburton is a bit easier to do on FanDuel ($10,300) than it is on DraftKings ($10,400), while we can say the same of Buddy Hield ($4,900 FD, $5,600 DK) in the midrange. Myles Turner might be the best point-per-dollar value on the slate at center, while Bruce Brown is a useful filler who should benefit from the expected pace here. As expected, there’s plenty to like on the Indiana side of things.

Atlanta Hawks (vs. IND): The Hawks are running a more condensed rotation than the Pacers, which is exactly what we love to see. Trae Young ($9,100 DK, $9,200 FD) should be more popular than Haliburton tonight thanks to his cheaper salaries, though I’m happy to pay down a bit to Dejounte Murray at what should be an ownership discount from Trae in GPPs. Jalen Johnson (1.05 FP/min) is still reasonably priced for the stellar production he’s supplied thus far, while the centers – Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu – are better values on DraftKings. De’Andre Hunter is a cheap way to get exposure to this game, as well.

Portland Trail Blazers (at PHO): The Blazers figure to finish among the league’s worst records this season, as they’re off to a dismal 3-10 start with a minus-10.2 point differential. San Antonio (minus-13.8) is the only team worse in that regard in the early going. As you may expect, the Blazers are massive 13-point underdogs in Phoenix tonight against a Suns team with no shortage of firepower. There’s a chance Malcolm Brogdon (questionable) returns to the lineup tonight, which would bring a much-needed boost to an otherwise barren backcourt. Brogdon is very much in play as a sub-$8,000 value if he suits up, as we have him projected to log 33 minutes right away. Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, and Deandre Ayton continue to project well in big-minute roles of their own.

Phoenix Suns (vs. POR): The Suns came out on the winning end of a wild, 2-OT thriller over the Jazz on Sunday, and tonight they’ll return home to host Portland. Bradley Beal is still out, which will keep the usage flowing steadily through Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. KD’s salaries around the industry never seem to budge, so he continues to pop as one of the better spends on the board in all formats. It seems like we’ve been rostering Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen as cheapies all year thanks to the Suns’ backcourt injuries, and they’re both squarely in play once again tonight. The Blazers have slumped to 18th in defensive efficiency so far this season, but I don’t think they’ve bottomed out just yet.

Utah Jazz (at LAL): The days of Rudy Gobert patrolling the paint in Utah are long gone, as the Jazz are all the way down to 28th in the league in defensive rating entering tonight’s clash with the Lakers. Walker Kessler is still out, which means we’ll see another Keyonte George start at the point while John Collins and Lauri Markkanen each move up a spot in the frontcourt. Jordan Clarkson (27.6%) has taken over as the team’s usage leader this season, while Kelly Olynyk and Talen Horton-Tucker project pretty well as salary savers off the bench. Even as 7.5-point underdogs on the road here, I’m likely to get quite a bit of exposure to Utah, especially on DraftKings.

Los Angeles Lakers (vs. UTA): The Lakers’ 122.25 total tonight is the third-highest on the slate, and with good reason. LeBron James is questionable yet again with his sore calf, but he’s played 3 straight games through the Q tag. I’ll say he’s on the probable side of questionable, and I’d be surprised if he sat tonight. He and Anthony Davis both look a little too cheap at these sub-$10,000 DK salaries, but there’s value to be found in the midrange, too. Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell offer some upside. Even Cam Reddish (0.68 FP/min) is a playable value, as he’s topped 30 minutes in 4 of the last 5 games in a newfound starting role.

NOTE: The closer it gets to the slate locking, the less likely it is that I will have the necessary time to update the tables below. For the most up-to-date information, make sure you are watching Crunch Time and monitoring LineupHQ for my Core Play tags and updates to our Premium NBA Projections.

NBA DFS Rankings & Core Plays

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