Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, January 9th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-09 23:43:41 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 Thursday!

This might be a hot take, but Thursday is my favorite day of the week. For starters, we are inching closer and closer to the weekend. It’s also the start of a PGA TOUR event each week, which means I hopefully get to sweat some golf over the next four days (assuming I can get a decent number of 6/6 lineups through the cut). It’s also the one night each week when my son and my girlfriend’s son are both with their other parents. We love our boys, but one night a week with just us is great. Love a good Thursday!

The Sixers chalk came through last night, but Cade Cunningham held me back from a good slate on Wednesday. This has been a terrific week for the NBA schedule, as we seem to have between 7 and 9 games every day. There’s a single late game on the schedule tonight, but the sites have decided to leave it off the main slate. We have a 7-game main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The Cavaliers, Raptors, Pistons, and Blazers are all playing on the second half of a back-to-back.

Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, January 9th

• 7-game main slate on both FD and DK
  - 7:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Orlando Magic
  - 8:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:30 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
  - 9:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Utah Jazz
  - 9:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:30 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers (postponed due to fires)
• Front end of a back-to-back: Warriors, Magic
• Back end of a back-to-back: Cavaliers, Raptors, Pistons, Blazers
• 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

1:30 PM ET – Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out. Here’s who benefits the most with him off the floor this season:

Kevin Love has been ruled out.

Brice Sensabaugh has been ruled out.

Team Previews

Toronto Raptors (at CLE)

The slate gets underway with the Raptors, who are playing on the second half of a back-to-back. They have yet to submit an injury report. They have a difficult matchup against the Cavaliers, who are one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Raptors are 15.5-point underdogs and have a team total that is lower than their season average. We’ll wait and see on the injury front, but I don’t expect to have any exposure to Toronto on this large slate.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. TOR)

The Cavaliers snapped the Thunder’s 15-game winning streak last night at home. They have yet to submit an injury report, but this could be a good spot to rest one or two of their veterans. They are massive favorites at home against the Raptors, who are 8th in pace and 27th in defensive rating. As it stands with everyone currently in the projections, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all have slightly positive RGValues. The team will become more appealing if they decide to rest a player or two.

Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers

Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!