Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, April 29th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-04-29 22:08:20 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 Wednesday!

As predicted, Karl-Anthony Towns buried me once again. He took 7 shots from the field and still put up 50 fantasy points. My squad got off to such a nice start with the Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid pairing from the first game, but nothing went right in the final 2 games.

To quickly recap last night’s games, the Sixers picked up a big win in Boston to extend the series. The Knicks had no problem holding serve at home against the Hawks and took a 3-2 lead in their series. And last but not least, the Spurs closed out the Blazers in San Antonio.

We have another 3-game slate on tap this evening. The Pistons are looking to stay alive in their series against the Magic, the Cavaliers are looking to take a 3-2 lead in their series against the Raptors, and the Lakers are looking to close out their series against the Rockets. Unlike the last couple of slates, all 3 games have spreads of less than 10 points.

Let’s dive into the team previews.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, April 29th

Slate Overview

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:30 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 10:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
• 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

Orlando Magic (at DET)

The Magic picked up 2 big wins at home to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their series against the Pistons. They could always end the series tonight or win in Game 7, but I get the feeling that whoever wins Game 6 is going to advance to the 2nd round (I might be unfairly assuming Detroit will win Games 5 and 7). This is a tough matchup on paper, and tonight’s game is on the road. The Magic are 9.5-point underdogs and have a team total that is 15 points lower than their season average. Franz Wagner is questionable, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his availability.

Here’s who stands to benefit the most if Wagner is ruled out:

Jalen Suggs surprisingly played well in the first 2 games of the series (in Detroit) and struggled in Games 3 and 4 (at home). While the game log doesn’t look pretty, he has averaged 34 minutes per game with a usage rate of 22%. He’s worth a look in large-field tournaments. If Wagner is active, he becomes one of the more intriguing decision points on the slate. He’s been great in each of the last 2 games, but calf injuries are tricky and can flare back up at any time. If he’s out, Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva will both see an uptick in minutes.

Desmond Bane has topped 32 fantasy points in 3 of the 4 games in this series, but he has yet to score more than 40 fantasy points. I’ll continue to be underweight. Paolo Banchero had a ceiling performance in Game 3, but he’s been held under 42 fantasy points in the other 3 games. Wendell Carter Jr. is my favorite target from the Magic. If you take out the game where he got into foul trouble and played limited minutes, he has averaged 36 minutes and 39 fantasy points in the other 3 games. He’s projected for low ownership once again.

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