Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 22nd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-01-22 23:33:47 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!

I turn 38 years young today. As I wrote in this article the other day, you’ll never be as young as you are today. When you look at it through that lens, you won’t feel as old. I’ve never been a big birthday guy. Some like to drag out their birthday celebrations for a whole week or an entire month, but a full day is more than enough time for me. I love celebrating other people’s birthday, but I don’t love the attention when it’s my birthday. And no, this isn’t me seeking attention by asking people to wish me a happy birthday. I bring it up because it may bring us some birthday luck for tonight’s slate.

We have 9 games on the schedule tonight. As is typically the case on these large slates, FanDuel and DraftKings are rolling out different-sized main slates. FanDuel has all 9 games included on theirs, while DraftKings only includes the first 7 games. There’s only 1 team playing on the second half of a back-to-back (Nets), but there are 8 teams playing on the front half of a back-to-back (Hawks, Mavericks, Thunder, Warriors, Kings, Celtics, Clippers). It’s been a quiet week so far for injury news, but something tells me that’s going to change today. Let’s jump into the team previews.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, January 22nd

• 9-game main slate
  - 7:30 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
  - 8:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets
  - 8:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 8:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 10:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings
  - 10:30 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: Hawks, Mavericks, Bucks, Thunder, Warriors, Kings, Celtics, Clippers
• Back end of a back-to-back: Nets
• 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

1:30 PM ET – The Bucks-Pelicans game has been postponed due to snowy/icy conditions in New Orleans. We now have an 8-game slate on FanDuel and a 6-game slate on DraftKings.

We have an update from the Nets — D’Angelo Russell and Ziaire Williams have been ruled out. Cam Johnson and Ben Simmons are both doubtful.

Team Previews

Phoenix Suns (at BKN)

We kick the slate off with the Suns, who are still without Jusuf Nurkic. Bradley Beal is listed as questionable, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his availability. A matchup against the Nets is a pace-down one, but Brooklyn is 25th or worse in rebounding rate, defensive rating, and 3-point percentage allowed. With Beal currently in the projections, there’s not much that stands out on a per-dollar basis. However, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have slightly positive values. If Beal is ultimately ruled out, they will become two of the best spends on the slate. Nick Richards is an interesting tournament play with Nurkic still out.

Brooklyn Nets (vs. PHO)

The Nets are playing on the second half of a back-to-back and have yet to submit an injury report. They draw a mediocre matchup at home against the Nets and come into the game with a team total that is 2 points lower than their season average. We know Cam Thomas, De’Anthony Melton, and Trendon Watford are out, but we’ll have to see who else is on the injury report. At the moment, there’s not a single player with a positive RGValue in the projections.

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