Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Saturday, January 4th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-01-05 19:16:08 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 Saturday! Just about everyone I know vouches for “Yellowstone,” so after months of putting it off, we finally started to watch it just before Christmas. No spoilers, but this show is utterly ridiculous. It’s a soap opera. Most of the acting is mediocre at best, the characters are all unlikable, and the writing and action are wildly over the top.

Also, I’m completely hooked and totally get it now.

Anyway, we’re looking at a couple of full slates this evening in the NBA streets. DraftKings is rolling with a 7-gamer starting at 7 PM ET, while FanDuel’s is an 8-gamer that includes the Hawks-Clippers clash that’ll feature the season debut of Kawhi Leonard.

Let’s take a deeper dive, shall we? I’ll be here throughout the day providing news updates, and I’ll also be on Crunch Time before lock with Tim and TJ for final thoughts. Tune in… or else.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Saturday, January 4th

• 8-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Indiana Pacers
  - 8:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at San Antonio Spurs
  - 8:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:30 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors
  - 10:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Jazz, Warriors
• Back end of a back-to-back: Knicks, Spurs, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Hawks, Pistons
• 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 throughout the day for news.

Team Previews

Minnesota Timberwolves (at DET)

The Timberwolves will be the more rested of the teams tonight in Detroit, with the Pistons on the latter half of a back-to-back. As a result, Minnesota is a 7.5-point road favorite without any notable injuries to report. The Wolves’ stars, Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert, have all been wildly inconsistent from a fantasy standpoint this season. I do think this is a solid spot for Edwards given the Pistons’ defensive struggles against high-usage wings, but he’s hardly a major priority. The value guys like Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Donte DiVincenzo stand out a little more on DraftKings, and I don’t mind looking their way as pivots away from what should be chalky Warriors value options. More on that later, of course.

Detroit Pistons (vs. MIN)

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