NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, January 26th
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.
We made it. It’s Friday. Cheers to the weekend!
We have 8 games on the schedule tonight, but only the first 7 games are included in the main slates on FanDuel and DraftKings. I was looking forward to targeting Victor Wembanyama now that the Spurs are letting him play 30 minutes, but that will have to wait for another slate. The only way to sweat the Blazers-Spurs game is to join showdown contests. For the main slate, we only have one team playing in the second half of a back-to-back (Pacers). I’d like to say this will lead to a quiet day of injury news, but we already have several key players listed as questionable.
Try as I might, I couldn’t find anyone to take my little one to his friend’s birthday party today. It starts at 6:00 PM ET, so I will try to get my final update for the rankings tables done at around 5:30 PM ET. I will continue to update the “news updates” section, as well as my core plays tags and the Expert Survey all the way through lock.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 26th
Slate Overview
- 8-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks
- 7:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Charlotte Hornets
- 7:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Indiana Pacers
- 7:30 PM ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Toronto Raptors
- 8:00 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at New Orleans Pelicans
- 8:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Memphis Grizzlies
- 8:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks
- 9:30 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Mavericks, Rockets, Hornets, Clippers, Bucks, Pelicans, Spurs
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Pacers
- 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
Dallas Mavericks (at ATL): We kick off Friday’s slate with the Mavericks, who have lost 3 games in a row. Their point differential has suggested regression all season, and we are finally starting to see it come to fruition. They draw an elite matchup against the Hawks, who are 5th in pace and 26th in defensive rating. The Mavericks come into the game with a team total that is 4.9 points above their season average. Kyrie Irving is questionable once again, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his status. Luka Doncic would become as close to a must play as you will find on the slate given the matchup against the Hawks. Here’s the CourtIQ table with Irving off the floor this season:
Irving being out would also give a sizable minute boost to both Tim Hardaway and Josh Green. If Irving is active, he and Doncic are the only options of note.
Atlanta Hawks (vs. DAL): The Hawks have lost 3 games in a row and 6 of their last 10 outings. They will likely be sellers at the trade deadline. Tonight they host the Mavericks, who are 10th in pace, 29th in rebounding rate, and 21st in defensive rating. The Hawks have a team total that is slightly higher than their season average. De’Andre Hunter is still out, while Trae Young and Clint Capela are both listed as questionable. If Young is out, Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic would become solid plays in all formats. If Capela is out, Onyeka Okongwu will become a Core Play on all sites. It’s a good thing that this is the first game of the slate, as there are a lot of injury situations to sift through.
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