NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, January 5th
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 wasn’t expecting much from last night’s 2-game slate, but we ended up getting a couple of great basketball games. I was still missing my Thursday Night Football, but some good basketball helped fill the void. The Bucks narrowly escaped San Antonio with a win, while the Nuggets beat the Warriors on a half-court buzzer-beater from none other than Nikola Jokic.
For tonight, there are a whopping 14 games on the schedule. FanDuel and DraftKings have both decided to leave some games off their main slate, but they went about it in different ways. FanDuel decided to leave the final 6 games off their main slate, while DraftKings only left the final 3 games off their main slate. This makes our job a little more difficult, but it also means we have the option of going to bed at a reasonable hour. Although it’s Friday, we should be living it up a little.
Cheers to the weekend, now let’s dive into this 8-game (FanDuel) or 11-game (DraftKings) slate.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 5th
Slate Overview
- 14-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Indiana Pacers
- 7:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Boston Celtics
- 7:30 PM ET – New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
- 7:30 PM ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Brooklyn Nets
- 7:30 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers
- 8:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls
- 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Clippers at New Orleans Pelicans
- 8:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets
- 8:30 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
- 9:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Denver Nuggets
- 9:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Phoenix Suns
- 10:00 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Golden State Warriors
- 10:00 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers
- 10:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Celtics, Pacers, Knicks, Wizards, Jazz, Sixers, Rockets
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Nuggets, Warriors
- 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 IND): The Hawks are only 14-19 on the season but have been in decent form recently and have a 9-10 record on the road. Tonight they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers in what should be the best game environment of the slate. The Hawks have a team total of 130.3 points, which is 7.5 points higher than their season average. De’Andre Hunter is still out, which means we can expect big minutes from Jalen Johnson and Saddiq Bey once again. From a projections standpoint, Trae Young looks like a strong option in all formats.
Indiana Pacers (vs. ATL): The Pacers have been up and down all season. They are currently on the ascent, as they have won each of their last 5 games. Tonight they host the Hawks, who have been one of the best matchups for fantasy production this season. The Pacers have the highest team total of the slate and it is 6.8 points above their season average. Andrew Nembhard and Bruce Brown are both questionable for this game. If one is out, the other will benefit. If both are out, a lot of minutes will open up on the wing. As is stands with both included in the projections, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner look like the top targets on the Pacers.
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