Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 7th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-07 23:10:36 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!

The core plays crushed yesterday (Cole Anthony, Jaren Jackson, Guerschon Yabusele) and it was a good thing because the rest of my lineup needed some serious help. I scraped out a small profit despite a poor supporting cast. When the Grizzlies game tipped off, I couldn’t believe Jackson was sub-10% ownership in tournaments. I honestly panicked for a second, thinking I missed a late scratch. A few of us had him tagged and the projections team had him as one of the best spends on the slate, so hopefully you were on him as well.

We now turn our attention to Tuesday’s 7-game slate. There are 2 late games on the schedule, and both are included on the main slates for FanDuel and DraftKings. It’s always nice when the sites agree on the main slate size. We might have a busy day of injury news, as there are 4 teams playing on the second half of a back-to-back (Suns, Mavericks, Wolves, Heat) and 3 teams playing on the first half of a back-to-back (Wizards, Pelicans, Nuggets).

The NFL Playoffs kick off this week and we have our first full-field event of the PGA TOUR season. It’s going to be a fun week.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 7th

• 7-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Washington Wizards
  - 7:30 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
  - 8:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 9:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Utah Jazz
  - 10:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors
• Front end of a back-to-back: Wizards, Pelicans, Nuggets
• Back end of a back-to-back: Suns, Mavericks, Wolves, Heat
• 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 as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Phoenix Suns (at CHA)

We kick off the slate with the Suns, who are playing on the second half of a back-to-back. They have yet to submit an injury report, so we’ll have to check back on them later. We know Royce O’Neale is out, but we’ll have to see if they decide to rest any of their veterans. They draw a favorable matchup against the Hornets, who have struggled defensively over the last month of play. The Suns are 3-point favorites and have a respectable team total.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. PHO)

The Hornets are still without Grant Williams, Tre Mann, and Moussa Diabate, but they should have everyone else available. They draw a mediocre matchup against the Suns, but it’s boosted by the fact that they are at home and that Phoenix is playing in a back-to-back. The Hornets don’t have a high team total, but it is 3 points higher than their season average. There’s not much that stands out in the projections, but LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are both worth a look in large-field tournaments. Mark Williams has a positive RGValue, but he has only topped 32 fantasy points in 2 of his last 12 games. He’s a fade for me.

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