Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 1st

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-01 23:36:14 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 New Year!

I hope everyone had a good New Year’s Eve and is ready to kick off the new year with a big night of NBA DFS. As usual, FanDuel and DraftKings have different-sized main slates. FanDuel has all 8 games on the schedule on their main slate, while DraftKings only has the first 6 games on their main slate. The Raptors are playing on the second half of a back-to-back, while the Heat, Nets, and Sixers are playing on the first half of a back-to-back.

We have a lot to cover, so let’s dive into the slate!

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, January 1st

• 8-game FD main slate, 6-game DK main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards
  - 7:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:30 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors
  - 7:30 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat
  - 7:30 PM ET – Utah Jazz at New York Knicks
  - 8:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
  - 9:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Sacramento Kings
• Front end of a back-to-back: Heat, Nets, Sixers
• Back end of a back-to-back: Raptors
• 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

Chicago Bulls (at WAS)

Ayo Dosunmu has been ruled out, Torrey Craig is listed as doubtful, and Zach LaVine is listed as questionable against the Bulls. This should be a fun one, as these are the two worst defensive teams in the league. The Bulls have a team total of 121.5 points, which is 4 points higher than their season average. Josh Giddey and Coby White already project well, so they would become core plays if LaVine is ruled out. Patrick Williams is a nice source of value, while Lonzo Ball is slowly starting to see an uptick in minutes. His per-minute production (1.02 DK / 1.04 FD) has been solid all season. Nikola Vucevic is a strong spend in both cash games and tournaments.

Washington Wizards (vs. CHI)

Saddiq Bey and Marvin Bagley have both been ruled out, while Jordan Poole and Carlton Carrington are listed as questionable. In addition to these being the two worst defensive teams in the NBA, they are 3rd and 4th in pace of play. The Wizards are 5.5-point underdogs here but have a team total that is 8 points higher than their season average. If Poole is out again, Malcolm Brogdon will draw another start at point guard. He played 29 minutes in Monday’s game against the Knicks. Even though the Wizards don’t pop in the projections (there’s not a single player with a positive RGValue), I still like looking their way in tournaments given the game environment.

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