Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, January 6th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-06 23:37:47 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 Monday!

The NFL season is officially over, but I’m extremely excited for the playoffs. While one sport is coming to a close, another is just getting started. The PGA TOUR had its first event of the year last week, and we got off to a very good start (especially in Showdown). I have a feeling it will be a huge year for the golf crew here at RotoGrinders. We’d love to have you join us along the way. We have the year’s first full-field tournament this week with the Sony Open in Hawaii and will have a ton of free and premium content.

We have a full slate in the association this evening. There are 9 games on the schedule, but only the first 8 are included on the main slates for FanDuel and DraftKings. The SAC/MIA game starts a full 2 hours after the 8:00 PM ET games, so the sites decided to leave it off the slate. In terms of back-to-back situations, there are 2 teams playing in the second half of them (Magic, Kings) and 4 teams playing on the first half of them (Suns, Mavericks, Wolves, Heat).

I need to pad the baby and new house fund, so let’s get the week started off on the right foot.

As always, I appreciate you joining me. Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, January 6th

• 8-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:30 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 PM ET – Orlando Magic at New York Knicks
  - 7:30 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Toronto Raptors
  - 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies
• Front end of a back-to-back: Suns, Mavericks, Wolves, Heat
• Back end of a back-to-back: Magic, Kings
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

News Updates

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

Team Previews

Portland Trail Blazers (at DET)

We kick off the slate with the Blazers, who have a very mediocre matchup on the road. The Pistons are exactly 17th in pace, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. Thanks to a combination of good matchups and Jerami Grant being out, Anfernee Simons (39 FPPG), Toumani Camara (30 FPPG), and Deni Avdija (39 FPPG) have all played well over the last 3 games. With Grant out again, we can certainly look to the Blazers at low pOWN% in tournaments. Camara is my favorite on DraftKings ($4,700), as he has quietly topped 28 fantasy points in 3 straight games. Avdija is my favorite on FanDuel ($6,700). He has topped 40 fantasy points in 3 of his last 5 games.

Detroit Pistons (vs. POR)

The Pistons are still without Jaden Ivey and have listed Ausar Thompson as questionable. They have one of the top matchups on the board, as the Blazers are 23rd in points allowed per game and 27th in defensive rating. Let’s quickly take a look at who benefits the most with Ivey off the floor this season:

Cade Cunningham sees a nice usage boost with Ivey out and has averaged 50 fantasy points per game this season. He’s one of the top spends on the slate. Ausar Thompson is still playing limited minutes but has averaged 1.07 fantasy points per minute this season. He’s capable of 40+ fantasy points at a cheap price point if active. Malik Beasley is showing up in the early optimals around 20% on DraftKings and 40% on FanDuel. With such a high team total, we shouldn’t be shy with our Detroit exposure.

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