Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 15th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-15 23:41:20 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 Wednesday!

We are inching closer and closer to the weekend. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m already tired of all the late scratches in the NBA. Unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse over the next few months. Luckily, you have this article and an amazing projections team to lean on for all of your last-minute news and updates.

We have a large slate on tap tonight, as there are 11 games on the schedule. DraftKings has decided to keep the 2 late games off their late slate, while FanDuel has kept all of the games on their main slate. I’m expecting a busy day of injury news, as the Sixers, Hawks, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Nuggets, Mavericks, and Nets are all playing on the second half of a back-to-back.

Team previews, here we come.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, January 15th

• 11-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:30 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors
  - 8:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 8:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 9:30 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs
  - 9:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Utah Jazz
  - 9:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers
  - 10:30 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Clippers, Rockets,
• Back end of a back-to-back: Sixers, Hawks, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Nuggets, Mavericks, Nets
• 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

1:00 PM ET – Goga Bitadze has been ruled out for the Magic. This provides a nice boost for Wendell Carter.

We have an update from the Bulls — Lonzo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White are all listed as questionable.

Team Previews

New York Knicks (at PHI)

Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as questionable, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his status. Here’s who benefits the most with him off the floor this season:

The Knicks have a fairly difficult matchup against the Sixers and come into the game with a team total that is 4 points below their season average. With KAT currently in the projections, there’s not much that stands out. My interest in the Knicks hinges on the availability of KAT.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. NYK)

It felt like the Sixers sat everyone at the last minute last night. They have yet to submit an injury report. We know they’ll be without KJ Martin, Jared McCain, and Kyle Lowry, but we’ll have to wait and see on the likes of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Caleb Martin, and Andre Drummond. They have a difficult matchup at home against the Knicks and have a team total that is the 4th-lowest on the slate. I’ll provide an update once we have a better idea of who is going to play.

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