Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, January 16th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2026-01-16 18:59:22 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. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. So, who better to walk you through the madness of NBA DwFS slates on DraftKings and FanDuel? Core Plays LIVE will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best plays, 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.

Hello, Friday! Noto is off today, so you’ve got me for tonight’s 4-game NBA DFS slate. He’s covered back-to-back weekends for me because I was on vacation, so I’d say the busiest man in DFS is due for a break. He’s probably seeing the core play tables in his dreams by now.

Anyway, it looks like an interesting slate. We’ve got some pending injury news – as always – and none of the 4 games features a spread of more than 3.5 points. As always, I’ll be here up until lock, breaking it all down and providing any and all news updates.

Let’s go!

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 16th

Slate Overview

• 4-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Toronto Raptors
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.

Team Previews

New Orleans Pelicans (at IND)

The Pelicans enter this game at just 10-33 on the season, good for the worst record in the West and the 2nd-worst mark in the league. The only team with a worse record? That would be tonight’s opponent, the 9-32 Indiana Pacers. New Orleans is a 3.5-point underdog on the road here as they continue to play without the injured Herb Jones, while Jose Alvarado and Dejounte Murray remain out. Despite their underdog status, the Pels’ 119 implied team total is the 2nd-highest mark on the slate.

Indiana is one of the worst rim-protecting teams in the league, which should be music to the ears of Zion Williamson (28.4% usage, 1.31 DK FP/minute). Zion’s minutes are slowly creeping into the low 30s, and he rates out as an excellent midrange value at $7,900 on DK and $8,400 on FD. Trey Murphy (1.08) has also been on a heater lately, and he pushes for 40 minutes just about every night. I prefer Zion given the comparable salaries, but they’re both stellar options individually.

Derik Queen (1.24 FP/minute) should have his way with the Pacers’ shoddy frontcourt, but his playing time has been erratic of late. He won’t come cheap, but I’m willing to roll the dice and hunt for his ceiling in GPPs on such a small slate. Jeremiah Fears and Jordan Poole are eating into each other’s usage and playing time in the backcourt, while Saddiq Bey generally plays a lower-usage role with Williamson in the lineup. They’re all viable in tournaments in a high-total game, but hardly priorities.

Indiana Pacers (vs. NOP)

The Pacers’ 122.5 total is the highest on tonight’s slate as they prepare to host a Pelicans team that comes into this one ranked just 28th in the league in defensive efficiency. Indiana is still without Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and Obi Toppin, but there’s a lot to like about the matchup. Much like the Pacers, the Pelicans really give it up in the paint. Only the Bulls, Kings, and Mavericks are allowing more paint points per game on the season than New Orleans.

Mathurin’s absence really concentrates the Pacers’ usage between Pascal Siakam (31.1%), T.J. McConnell (27.8%), and Andrew Nembhard (23.5%). The Pacers haven’t decided to start tanking yet, so the regulars are still logging heavy minutes. Siakam looks underpriced for his steady production at his sub-$9,000 salaries, while you can say the same of Nembhard at $7,200 on both sites. Nembhard is closer to being a core play for me on this slate, but they’re both terrific options in all formats. McConnell rarely plays much more than 20 minutes off the bench, but he’s so productive (1.39 FP/minute) that it hardly matters. He’s a strong value play in the $5,000 range, especially if his ownership is held relatively in check.

Indy’s wing situation is gross, with all of Aaron Nesmith, Johnny Furphy, Jarace Walker, and Quenton Jackson vying for minutes. Nesmith is the steadiest option of the bunch with the highest minutes floor, but the per-minute numbers are a little lacking (0.88). I’d rather take a shot on Walker, who’s under $4,000 on both sites with a path to 20+ minutes off the bench. The last Pacer on my radar is Jay Huff, assuming he starts at the 5. Huff is active while he’s out there (1.01 FP/minute), and he’s awfully cheap around the industry for the ceiling he brings to the table.

Want to read more? Sign up for NBA Premium!

Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers