Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, January 19th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-01-19 23:29:26 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 Sunday! I identify as a very fairweather Houston Texans fan. I didn’t go into yesterday’s game against the Chiefs with expectations that they’d win, but I thought they’d make it a game. It was only a tad disheartening to see the Texans play about as well as they possibly could – outplaying the Chiefs in just about every facet – only to still lose by a 2-possession margin. Can’t wait to see how the Chiefs luckbox their way to another Super Bowl appearance next week! As always, it’s turtles all the way down for the Texans. To each their own til we go home.

Anyway, you’re not here to hear me whine. We’re looking at another 5-game NBA slate tonight on DraftKings, while FanDuel decided to include the DEN-ORL affair tipping off at 6 PM ET on their main docket. So things will be a bit different between the sites this evening.

Without further complaints, let’s dive in.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, January 19th

• 6-game main FD slate, 5-game main DK slate
  - 6:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Orlando Magic
  - 7:00 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 7:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 9:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Portland Trail Blazers
  - 9:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers
  - 9:00 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Sacramento Kings
• Front end of a back-to-back: Bulls, Clippers
• Back end of a back-to-back: Sixers, Wizards, Trail 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

Here’s where I’ll provide news updates leading up to lock.

Team Previews

Denver Nuggets (at ORL)

Let’s tip things off with the Nuggets, who are likely to be at full strength tonight in Orlando. Denver’s favored by 8 in this one against a shorthanded Magic outfit. A big decision point on FD will be whether to pay all the way up for the $12,600 Nikola Jokic, who should feast against a Magic team missing its primary rim protector, Goga Bitadze. Matchups don’t matter when it comes to rostering Jokic, but it’s more about whether we have enough cheap value to comfortably fit his hefty salary. Jamal Murray ($8,300) has perked up of late after a ragged run of form, but this team as a whole projects poorly from a value standpoint. I think we have better situations and game environments to target elsewhere.

Orlando Magic (vs. DEN)

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