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

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-10-29 21:57:43 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!

I ended up having a solid slate last night, although a late pivot to Jonathan Kuminga cost me a few spots in the tournaments that I was in. I was trying to swap in Russell Westbrook after he was named the starter, but I couldn’t find swaps for the other roster spots. It was still a profitable slate, and we’ll never complain about those.

We are halfway to the weekend and only 2 days away from Halloween. It’s going to be a busy weekend for yours truly. We have Halloween on Friday, Friendsgiving on Saturday, and my son’s birthday party on Sunday. Yes, I knowingly booked his birthday party during an NFL Sunday because it was the only day that everyone could make work. Instead of sweating my NFL lineups, I will be monitoring 31 kids at the local swimming pool. Oh, the sacrifices that we make for our kids.

We have 10 games on the schedule tonight, but not all of them are included on the main slates for FanDuel and DraftKings. We have one game that starts at 6:30 PM ET, so both sites decided to leave that off their main slate. FanDuel has the other 9 included in their main slate, while DraftKings is rolling out a 7-game main slate.

Get your caffeine of choice ready, and let’s dive into tonight’s slate.

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

Slate Overview

• Main Slate – DraftKings: 7 games; FanDuel: 9 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
  - 7:30 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:30 pm ET – Indiana Pacers at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz
  - 9:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Denver Nuggets
  - 9:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 10:00 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Phoenix Suns
• 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)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Magic, who have picked up their pace of play this season. They travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons, who are 8th in rebounding rate, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. Orlando’s team total is nearly identical to their season average. On the injury front, Moe Wagner is still out.

Jalen Suggs has yet to play more than 20 minutes in a game this season, so he can be avoided in all formats. Desmond Bane (22%), Franz Wagner (23%), and Paolo Banchero (27%) have all cut into each other’s usage so far this season. The larger the slate, the less likely I am to target one of the big three from the Magic, at least when all three are active. Banchero does have a positive RGValue in LineupHQ, but he has averaged only 40 fantasy points per game. Wendell Carter Jr. is the most appealing point-per-dollar option, but he’s facing a good rebounding team and a good defensive frontcourt.

Detroit Pistons (vs. ORL)

The Pistons look like a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference. Their defense continues to get better, and their offense is good enough to be competitive. They have a decent draw at home against the Magic, who are 8th in pace and 16th in points allowed per game. Detroit’s implied team total is 2 points higher than their season average. Jaden Ivey is still out, while Caris LeVert, Marcus Sasser, and Ausar Thompson are questionable.

Cade Cunningham has struggled on a per-minute basis this season (1.13 DK / 1.05 FD) and has yet to top 50 fantasy points in any single game. While targeting him at low projected ownership is appealing, he’s not a priority for me at his current price point. Duncan Robinson is playing big minutes, but he has only averaged 0.49 fantasy points per minute. Thompson has been solid, but he’s priced at a premium. Tobias Harris doesn’t offer much appeal on a slate this size. Jalen Duren has the highest RGValue (-2.00) of anyone on the Pistons, but that’s not saying much.

Cleveland Cavaliers (at BOS)

The Cavaliers have a difficult matchup on the road against the Celtics, who are 28th in pace and 2nd in points allowed per game this season. I thought Boston would struggle defensively after missing three of their best defenders, but that hasn’t been the case. Cleveland has an implied team total that is 1 point below their season average. Darius Garland, Max Strus, and Sam Merrill have all been ruled out.

These 2 early games aren’t very appealing on the DFS front. The Cavaliers don’t have a single player on the roster with a positive RGValue. Donovan Mitchell is viable in large-field tournaments, as he boasts a 32% usage rate. Jaylon Tyson has been held under 10 fantasy points in back-to-back games. Lonzo Ball is my favorite point-per-dollar target here. He sat out Monday’s game and played 23 minutes in his most recent game. Evan Mobley has topped 45 fantasy points in back-to-back games, but he’s no longer priced at a discount.

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