Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 14th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-14 23:33:37 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 Tuesday!

It’s hard to believe we got blowouts in 5 of the 6 NFL playoff games over the weekend. There were some really good matchups on paper, but the games didn’t play out that way. Let’s hope for a much more interesting Divisional Round. But we aren’t here to talk about football, we are here to talk about tonight’s NBA slate. There are 7 games on the schedule and for once, FanDuel and DraftKings have agreed on their slate size. They both are rolling out 7-game main slates.

We don’t have any teams playing on the second half of a back-to-back tonight, but the Sixers, Hawks, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Nuggets, Mavericks, and Nets are all playing on the front half of a back-to-back. Let’s dive into the slate.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 14th

• 7-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks
  - 8:00 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Sacramento Kings at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 9:30 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks
  - 10:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Portland Trail Blazers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Sixers, Hawks, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Nuggets, Mavericks, Nets
• Back end of a back-to-back: None
• 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

2:20 PM ET – Tyrese Maxey is now questionable.

Team Previews

Oklahoma City Thunder (at PHI)

The slate kicks off with the Thunder and Sixers, who are both capable defensive teams. The Thunder are still without Chet Holmgren but are expected to have Alex Caruso back. They have a team total of 115 points, which is slightly below their season average. The Thunder don’t project particularly well on this large slate, so they will be under-owned in tournaments. We’ve seen that the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams don’t need a favorable matchup to be difference-makers in DFS. Both are strong tournament plays, especially if you are building multiple lineups. While they aren’t my favorite values, Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Cason Wallace are all cheap enough to keep in your MME player pool.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. OKC)

The Sixers have been shorthanded most of the season and that will continue tonight. Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain, Kyle Lowry, and KJ Martin have all been ruled out, while Caleb Martin is listed as questionable. The absence of so many players is usually a positive for DFS, but the Sixers have the worst matchup on the board. The Thunder are 1st or 2nd in 3-point percentage allowed, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George should soak up usage, but they are best suited as large-field tournament targets given the matchup. Guerschon Yabusele is an intriguing value play for tournaments, as he should start and play 30+ minutes at low ownership.

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