Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, January 5th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-05 22:53:27 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 an NBA DFS slate? 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. How about that Steelers vs. Ravens game last night?

We have a busy slate of games on tap tonight. There are 8 games in total, but we have different-sized main slates on FanDuel and DraftKings. All 8 games are included on FanDuel’s main slate, while only the first 6 games are included on DraftKings’ main slate.

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, January 5th

Slate Overview

• Slate Size – FanDuel: 8 Games, DraftKings: 6 Games
  - 7:00 pm ET – New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:30 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics
  - 7:30 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors
  - 8:00 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Charlotte Hornets at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:30 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 10:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers
  - 10:00 pm ET – Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

12:50 PM ET

Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Tim Hardaway, and Christian Braun have been ruled out for the Nuggets. We are looking at a projected lineup of Jalen Pickett, Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, Peyton Watson, and DaRon Holmes. There’s a TON of value on the Nuggets.

Team Previews

New York Knicks (at DET)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Knicks, who draw one of the worst matchups on the board. The Pistons are top 5 in rebounding rate, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. The Knicks are favored but have a team total that is 3 points lower than their season average. Josh Hart and Landry Shamet are out.

Given the tough matchup on the road, I’m not prioritizing the Knicks on this slate. A case can always be made for Jalen Brunson in cash games since he has scored over 40 fantasy points in 14 of his last 15 games, but I’m not sure he has the upside we are looking for in tournaments. Karl-Anthony Towns has a decent RGValue on DraftKings, but Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby feel overpriced on both sites. Mitchell Robinson is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue on FanDuel. He has scored at least 24 fantasy points in 5 of his last 8 games.

Detroit Pistons (vs. NYK)

The Pistons have a mediocre matchup against the Knicks at home and come into the game with a team total that is 2 points lower than their season average. This is a back-to-back situation, so we don’t have their initial injury report yet. However, we don’t expect Caris LeVert, Jalen Duren, or Tobias Harris to suit up.

Let’s see who benefits with Duren, LeVert, and Harris off the floor:

Cade Cunningham is one of the best spends on the slate. He has topped 50 fantasy points in 5 of his last 6 games and has seen sizable usage and FP/min. boosts with those three off the floor this season. Isaiah Stewart has a clear path to 30 minutes, Ausar Thompson is a sneaky tournament play, and Javonte Green is a reasonable punt on DraftKings. We saved the best for last, as Paul Reed (1.35 DK / 1.41 FD) has the highest RGValue on the slate.

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