Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, January 24th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-24 23:51:19 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 and has long been one of the top NBA DFS minds in the industry. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. Their Core Plays LIVE article 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, Core Plays LIVE has everything you need for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Happy Friday!

This is not a golf article, nor does anyone care how other people’s lineups are doing, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that I got 6-of-6 through the cut in my main PGA DFS lineup for the first time in a long time. I’ve had plenty of 6-of-6 lineups in MME but it’s felt like an impossible task in my main lineup that I enter in smaller-field, high-dollar contests. I’m heading into the weekend a little more fired up than usual.

The NBA schedule is, let’s call it, interesting over the next few days. There are only 3 games tonight, there are 14 games tomorrow, there’s 1 game on Sunday, and then there are 12 games on Monday. It should be a relatively light day for injury news, which is always music to my ears. If you are around and want some last-minute advice for tonight’s slate, I’ll be on Crunch Time with Dean and Beer at 6:20 PM ET.

Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 24th

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 8:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies
• Front end of a back-to-back: Hornets, Cavaliers, Sixers, Pelicans, Grizzlies
• Back end of a back-to-back: Blazers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

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News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Portland Trail Blazers (at CHA)

The Blazers are the only team on the slate playing on the second half of a back-to-back, although the other 5 teams are all playing on the front half of a back-to-back. They have a mediocre matchup against the Hornets and easily have the lowest team total on the board. Given the back-to-back, they have yet to submit an injury report for today. Deandre Ayton missed last night’s game, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his status. Robert Williams started and put up 33 fantasy points last night. We’ll have to see if anyone else is added to the injury report. As it stands right now with Ayton in the projections, there’s not a single player with a positive RGValue.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. POR)

Brandon Miller, Tre Mann, and Grant Williams are all still out, while LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are both listed as questionable. Add in a home matchup against the Hornets, and we have ourselves a recipe for value in NBA DFS. Despite the injuries, the Hornets have a team total that is 5 points higher than their season average. If Ball and/or Bridges end up being out, this will be the easiest team to stack on the slate. With Ball and Bridges currently in the projections, both have positive RGValues alongside Mark Williams. Williams has been on an absolute tear, averaging over 50 fantasy points in his last 5 games. Nick Smith and Josh Green project for minutes in the high 20s and would become elite values if Ball and/or Bridges end up being out.

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