Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, January 19th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-19 23:02:22 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. 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 Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We hung out with friends, saw some family, did an art project with our boys, and watched a lot of football. It was a great weekend in my book.

As is always the case on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we have a full day of NBA games. They start at 1:00 PM ET, but the sites have opted for a 4-game main slate rather than an all-day main slate (it’s easier to fill contests with the later start time). If you are playing any of the early or Showdown slates, our projections team still has you covered. For our purposes, we will focus on the 4-gamer that starts at 7:00 PM ET. I’m not going to lie, it’s not the best slate I’ve ever seen, but we’ll make do with what we have.

Let’s dive into the games!

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NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, January 19th

Slate Overview

• 9 games in total, 4-game main slate
  - 1:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks (not on main slate)
  - 2:30 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers (not on main slate)
  - 3:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Washington Wizards (not on main slate)
  - 5:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks (not on main slate)
  - 5:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs (not on main slate)
  - 7:00 pm ET – Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Brooklyn Nets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
  - 10:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors
• 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

Indiana Pacers (at PHI)

We get the ball rolling with the Pacers, who have a mediocre matchup on the road. The Sixers are 19th in pace, 14th in points allowed per game, and 11th in defensive rating. The Pacers are 8-point underdogs and have a team total that is identical to their season average. Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin are still out.

We don’t have a ton of obvious plays on this slate, so I’ll do my best to leave no stone unturned. Andrew Nembhard has scored at least 37 fantasy points in 6 of his last 7 games and is a solid mid-range option. Johnny Furphy is cheap and has been starting, but he’s scored fewer than 20 fantasy points in 3 of the last 4 games. If I’m going with a cheap guard on the Pacers, I still prefer T.J. McConnell. While we only have him projected for 18 minutes, he has a much higher ceiling than Furphy.

Aaron Nesmith isn’t a player I target often. He plays a lot of minutes, but he doesn’t have a high floor or ceiling. Jay Huff’s last 2 games couldn’t have gone more differently, as he scored 6 and 51 fantasy points. He’s not a cash game target, but he’s certainly viable in tournaments. Pascal Siakam is easily the top target from the Pacers. His usage rate is elite, and he has scored at least 44 fantasy points in 6 of the last 8 games.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. IND)

The Sixers draw a nice matchup at home against the Pacers, who are 9th in pace, 29th in rebounding rate, and 24th in points allowed per game. Philly’s team total is 2 points higher than their season average. Jared McCain is expected to be out, while Paul George and Joel Embiid are questionable.

Since there are only 4 games on the main slate, we can afford to do a deeper dive. Let’s look at three different situations for the Sixers.

With Embiid off the floor:

With George off the floor:

With Embiid and George off the floor:

With both players currently in the projections, Tyrese Maxey is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue. He rarely garners ownership despite topping 55 fantasy points in 6 of his last 10 games. If Embiid is out, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe would see the largest usage boosts, while Andre Drummond would likely draw the spot start. If George is out, Embiid would see the biggest usage boost. If both are out, the Sixers immediately become the top team to target on the slate.

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