Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, February 1st

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-02-01 23:19:36 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.

We’re only a couple of weeks away from the NBA All-Star break, but we’re still in the midst of the most chaotic portion of the NBA schedule. We’re already seeing teams starting to shamelessly tank (Charlotte, Brooklyn, Utah), while others are tanking in a classier, high-brow fashion (New Orleans, Portland). The Wizards are certainly tanking, but at least they’re doing it the right way so far. They’re not resting healthy players just yet- it’s just that the guys who play every night happen to join forces to form one of the worst basketball teams you’ve ever seen. The Wiz are, unfortunately, involved in tonight’s slate.

Speaking of tonight’s docket, we’re looking at 6 games on DraftKings and 7 over on FanDuel. FD decided to include the late-night PHX-POR clash on their main slate. As always, I’ll be here throughout the day keeping tabs on the latest news leading up to lock.

Let’s dive right in.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, February 1st

• 6-game DK main slate, 7-game FD main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Charlotte Hornets
  - 8:00 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:00 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Houston Rockets
  - 8:30 PM ET – Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:30 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks
  - 10:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers
• Front end of a back-to-back: None
• Back end of a back-to-back: Hornets, Nuggets, Spurs, Suns
• 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

Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.

Team Previews

Denver Nuggets (at CHA)

We’ll tip things off with the Nuggets, who picked up a close, high-scoring win in Philly last night. Russell Westbrook is the name to watch here, as he left last night’s game with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. Russ is an ironman, but I’d be surprised if he suited up tonight in Charlotte, especially with Denver listed as a 13-point favorite. We’re projecting Christian Braun to return to the starting unit in Westbrook’s place, while Jamal Murray (+1.4%) and Michael Porter Jr. (+1.4%) have both seen usage boosts with Russ on the bench. Murray has been in stellar form of late, and he grades out as one of the better mid-range spends. Porter and Braun are secondary values barring more injury news.

Speaking of injury news, Aaron Gordon is a name to watch on the B2B. He returned to the starting lineup a couple of games ago and has topped 30 minutes in both games since, but they could certainly take the opportunity to rest him here if they want to. If he suits up, Gordon is again a particularly strong value at only $4,200 on DraftKings. Peyton Watson has a chance to play a solid role regardless of Gordon’s status, which keeps him in play at just $3,200 on DK. If Gordon sits, Watson is easily one of the best values on the entire slate. I haven’t yet mentioned Nikola Jokic, which seems like quite an oversight. Tonight, he’ll potentially be tangling with the likes of Taj Gibson and Moussa Diabate. Jokic should feast, and, as usual, it’s easier to get to him at $12,000 on DK than it is at $12,700 with just one center slot on FanDuel.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. DEN)

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