Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Friday, January 9th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-09 22:53:03 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. So, who better to walk you through the madness of NBA DFS 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.

Happy Friday!

What a wild situation we had last night in Chicago. The game was delayed due to “condensation on the court.” Apparently, the ice underneath the floor was melting and causing the floor to become wet. It eerily reminded me of the Wolves/Spurs game in Mexico City many years ago. This was back when DraftStreet was still around. I’ll never forget stacking that game with Kevin Love and others, only for the game to get postponed because of a fire in the arena. I can’t remember if it was Condia or one of the other high-volume DFS players, but they faded the game completely and won basically every DFS contest that night.

Luckily, DraftKings decided to refund anyone the difference between their winnings and entry fees last night. It wasn’t expected, but it was much appreciated. We now turn our attention to tonight’s slate. Both FanDuel and DraftKings are rolling out 7-game main slates and 3-game late slates. I love it when the stars align.

Cheers to the weekend. Let’s dive into the slate.

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NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 9th

Slate Overview

• Main slate – DraftKings: 7 games, FanDuel: 7 games
  - 7:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Washington Wizards
  - 7:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic
  - 7:00 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics
  - 7:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 9:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Phoenix Suns
  - 9:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Portland Trail Blazers (not on main slate)
  - 10:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors (not on main slate)
  - 10:30 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers (not on main slate)
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

New Orleans Pelicans (at WAS)

We kick off tonight’s main slate with the Pelicans, who have the best matchup on the slate. The Wizards are 6th in pace and bottom 5 in rebounding rate, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. The Pelicans have a team total that is 7 points higher than their season average. Jose Alvarado, Saddiq Bey, Dejounte Murray, and Herb Jones are all expected out, while Trey Murphy is questionable.

The Pelicans don’t project as well as expected, as Derik Queen is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to when head coach James Borrego decides to bench Queen. After playing 32 minutes against the Lakers, he only saw 19 minutes against the Hawks on Wednesday. I view Queen as an elite tournament player and an all-too-risky cash game target. Zion Williamson has topped 40 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games and draws his best matchup to date.

For the rest of the Pelicans, I’ll wait and see if Murphy can suit up. Here’s who has benefited the most with Bey, Jones, Alvarado, and Murphy off of the floor this season:

Washington Wizards (vs. NOP)

This is a rare game where the Wizards are only 2-point underdogs. They draw an elite matchup at home against the Pelicans, who are 9th in pace and bottom 7 in rebounding rate, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. The Wizards’ team total is 6 points higher than their season average. Corey Kispert (trade to Atlanta pending), CJ McCollum (trade to Atlanta pending), and Cam Whitmore are all out.

Let’s see who has benefited the most with those three players off of the floor this season:

Bub Carrington played 39 minutes the other night and should have a major role again tonight. He’s one of the safest value plays on the slate. For tournaments, I don’t mind pivoting to Tre Johnson, who is projecting for lower ownership. As you can see above, he has seen a 7% usage boost and a 0.31 FP/minute boost with those three off of the floor. Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Bilal Coulibaly have all flashed upside this season and warrant consideration in tournaments. Don’t get shy when it comes to your exposure to this game.

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