NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Sunday, January 21st
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’ve got a wee 5-game NBA slate on tap for Sunday, and please note that the first game locks an hour earlier than usual at 6 PM ET. Three of the five games on the board feature double-digit point spreads, though one of those 10-plus-point favorites is the Lakers, who just got their doors blown off at home by the checks notes Brooklyn Nets. Proceed with caution there, Lakers bettors.
We’re also seeing an interesting trend in the streets when it comes to pricing on DraftKings and FanDuel. FD salaries are still generally pretty tight, but DK seems to be loosening things up after aggressively setting salaries for most of the season. We’ll see what transpires there, but it’s currently a lot easier to build a lineup you’ll actually like on DraftKings, while cheap value in particular is still hard to come by on FD.
Anyway, let’s dive right into this 5-gamer, shall we?
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, January 21st
Slate Overview
- 5-game slate
- 6:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
- 6:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Washington Wizards
- 7:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Houston Rockets
- 8:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns
- 10:00 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Celtics, Suns
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Wizards, Rockets
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
Here’s where I’ll provide news updates.
Team Previews
Miami Heat (at ORL): The Heat dropped a winnable game against a shorthanded Hawks outfit on Friday night, and tonight they’ll visit Orlando for a good old-fashioned Florida Derby against the Magic. This matchup between defensive-minded rivals has the lowest over/under on the board (215.5), and Miami’s favored by a point on the road. Jaime Jaquez remains out, and we have the Heat projected to roll with Caleb Martin and Nikola Jovic next to the 3 stars in the starting group. I still think Bam Adebayo is squarely in play at his sub-$9,000 salaries even in a sub-optimal matchup, while Jimmy Butler ($7,700) and Tyler Herro ($7,300) are a little cheap on DK. Kyle Lowry is down to $3,900 off the bench, but I see no floor or ceiling there at this point.
Orlando Magic (vs. MIA): There’s a chance Franz Wagner (Q) returns from his ankle injury today, while Gary Harris remains sidelined for Orlando. Wagner returning would take a bite out of the sky-high usage Paolo Banchero has been sporting of late, while Chuma Okeke would likely head back to the bench. Banchero and Wagner are the only Orlando players currently projected to top 30 minutes, though Wendell Carter does seem to be playing his way back into a bigger role. The matchup stinks, and he’s been wildly efficient with his shooting over the past couple of games, but $5,200 on DK is still cheap enough to get me interested in a dusting of WCJ. It’s still a volatile situation with a 3-headed center rotation though, and he’s still not projecting all that well in a 24-minute expectation.
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