NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, February 9th
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 Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. So, who better to walk you through the madness of an NBA DFS slate? Core Plays LIVE 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, you’ve come to the right place.
Happy Friday!
I thought last night’s slate was fairly obvious. Load up on the chalky values (NYK, BKN) and then look to differentiate with superstars. Kevin Durant ended up with a big game, but I didn’t stick to my guns with Anthony Edwards over Giannis Antetokounmpo. Once Damian Lillard was ruled out, I fell for the Giannis trap. Sticking with Edwards would have allowed me to upgrade my final punt (Taylor Hendricks). Ultimately, it made the most sense to use Luka Doncic as a bring-back to my Knicks stack. That’s the roster construction that ended up winning tournaments last night. It’s always good to look back at previous slates and see what we could have done better.
As for tonight, there are 6 games on the schedule. It’s a little light for a Friday, but certainly welcome on the content production front. After what felt like millions of trades yesterday, it will be nice to have a slower day of news roll across the timeline. However, with three teams playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Bucks, Nuggets, Lakers) and seven teams playing in the front half of a back-to-back (Hawks, Sixers, Wizards, Rockets, Raptors, Hornets, Pelicans), we may not be so lucky. Both FanDuel and DraftKings have all 6 games on their main slates, so let’s dive right into the breakdown.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, February 9th
Slate Overview
- 6-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers
- 7:30 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics
- 7:30 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors
- 8:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks
- 10:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings
- 10:30 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Hawks, Sixers, Wizards, Rockets, Raptors, Hornets, Pelicans
- Teams in the second half of a back-to-back: Bucks, Nuggets, Lakers
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.
Team Previews
Atlanta Hawks (at PHI): The Hawks were expected to be sellers at the deadline, but they didn’t end up making any moves. They are only 22-29 on the season but are currently clinging onto the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tonight they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers, who are a much better matchup without Joel Embiid in the lineup. The Hawks are actually 3.5-point favorites and have a team total that is 1.5 points above their season average. On the injury front, Clint Capela is still out and Dejounte Murray is listed as questionable. Onyeka Okongwu has started the last 3 games and has averaged 35 minutes and 39 fantasy points. He sees a major matchup boost with Embiid out. Trae Young has a positive RG Value with Murray in the projections, so he’ll become an excellent play if Murray is ruled out. Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic would also see significant upticks in minutes and/or usage if Murray is out.
Philadelphia 76ers (vs. ATL): The Sixers have lost 3 games in a row and 7 of their last 10 outings. They have dropped down to 5th in the Eastern Conference standings. They are still without their MVP but draw an elite matchup against the Hawks, who are 3rd in pace and 28th in defensive rating. The matchup is so good that despite the injuries, the Sixers have a team total that is higher than their season average. The Sixers traded for Buddy Hield and Cam Payne, but they will not be available tonight. The Sixers will also be without Embiid, De’Anthony Melton, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Danuel House (traded), Jaden Springer (traded), Marcus Morris (traded), Furkan Korkmaz (traded), and Patrick Beverley (traded). We should see a very condensed rotation tonight, and the offense should flow through Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. I like the idea of building a mini-game stack here. From a value standpoint, Terquavion Smith and KJ Martin are currently projecting as solid point-per-dollar options.
Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
