Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 28th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-28 23:15:36 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.

Happy Tuesday!

While I love having the NBA every night and look forward to having a golf tournament to sweat every week, I will sincerely miss watching football on the weekends. We do have the Super Bowl in 2 weeks. We will have an Expert Survey up for the game, and I’ll be writing the NFL DFS Grind Down.

After a massive slate on Monday night, we only have 4 games on the schedule tonight. The Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, Jazz, and Bucks are all playing on the second half of a back-to-back, while the Sixers and Warriors are playing on the front half of a back-to-back.

Let’s dive into the team previews.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 28th

• 4-game main slate
  - 7:30 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:30 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Atlanta Hawks
  - 10:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Portland Trail Blazers
  - 10:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors
• Front end of a back-to-back: Sixers, Warriors
• Back end of a back-to-back: Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, Jazz, Bucks
• 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 sites available today.

News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Los Angeles Lakers (at PHI)

We kick the slate off with the Lakers, who are playing on the second half of a back-to-back. They have yet to submit an injury report and only have two players currently nursing injuries (Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura). They draw a mediocre matchup against the Sixers, who are the slowest-paced team in the league. The positives are that the Sixers are 30th in rebounding rate and 21st in defensive rating.

Currently, Anthony Davis and LeBron James both project as strong spends. If one of the veterans gets the night off, the other would immediately become a core play. In Hachimura’s absence last night, Max Christie logged 39 minutes.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. LAL)

The Sixers have not had the season they were hoping for when they brought in Paul George. The biggest issue has been health, and that continues tonight against the Lakers. George, Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, KJ Martin, and Jared McCain have all been ruled out. Being shorthanded at home against a fast-paced Lakers team could be a recipe for DFS value. Despite all of the injuries, the Sixers are still projected to score 108 points tonight.

Tyrese Maxey has topped 50 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games and should dominate usage, Kelly Oubre has shown that he’s capable of scoring 40+ fantasy points in these situations, and Guerschon Yabusele will get a bunch of minutes with Embiid and Drummond both out. For value, Justin Edwards and Eric Gordon are solid lineup fillers.

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