Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, October 22nd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-10-22 22:13:14 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 an NBA DFS slate? 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!

It’s hard to ask for a better start to the season than the one I had last night. I was on Crunch Time last night with Kevin Roth and Chop. We talked through each position and looked closely at the ownership projections. We noticed that Alperen Sengun was projected for around 10% on DraftKings despite those massive per-minute numbers in the preseason. I decided to pivot to Sengun in my main lineup. I also swapped to Cason Wallace once he was announced as the starter over Aaron Wiggins. So much of NBA DFS involves adjusting to injury news and ownership projections. I’ll be back on Crunch Time at 6:15 PM ET tonight, so be sure to tune in!

As for tonight, we have a massive 12-game slate on our hands. I’ll do my best to give thorough team previews, although I don’t want you to spend half of your day reading this article. The team previews are designed to provide you with a clear understanding of what to expect from each team and the key decision points on the slate. More importantly, you should keep an eye on the rankings tables at the bottom of the page, as I will update those through lineup lock. It’s also important to keep an eye on the “News Updates” section and on my Expert Play tags in LineupHQ.

We have a lot to cover, so let’s dive right into it.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, October 22nd

Slate Overview

• 12-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
  - 7:00 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
  - 7:30 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 9:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
  - 9:30 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks
  - 10:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers
• 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

Cleveland Cavaliers (at NYK)

The Cavaliers made some nice additions to their roster in the offseason. They brought in Lonzo Ball, Thomas Bryant, and Larry Nance. They did lose Ty Jerome in free agency, but they still have the highest win total (56.5) of any team in the Eastern Conference. They open up their season against the Knicks, who are known for their slow play and their defense. The Cavaliers still have a hefty team total of 114 points.

With Darius Garland out, Ball is expected to start at point guard. It’s good to see him back on the floor, but he was not great on a per-minute basis in the preseason. Donovan Mitchell surprisingly averaged 6 fewer fantasy points per game with Garland out of the lineup last season. On a smaller slate, I’d have more interest in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who should both push for 30+ minutes. My favorite point-per-dollar target here is Larry Nance, who is cheap and averaged 1.08 DK / 1.14 FD points per minute in the preseason. The one injury to watch here is D’Andre Hunter, who is listed as questionable. If he’s out, some value could open up on the wing.

New York Knicks (vs. CLE)

The Knicks finished last season with the 3rd-best record and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. They didn’t have any key players leave, and they brought in Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson, which should give them the deepest roster that they’ve had in years. They enter this season with a win total of 53.5 games, which is one of the highest marks in the East.

Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson have already been ruled out for the opener, while Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as questionable. If Towns is out, the Knicks immediately become one of the top teams to target, despite a difficult matchup against the Cavaliers. If KAT is out, we can expect big usage bumps for Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges. Yabusele already projects as a strong value with Hart out, so he would become one of the best values on the slate if KAT is out as well. Clarkson is an intriguing large-field tournament target in his Knicks’ debut.

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