Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, January 4th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-04 18:57:36 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 Sunday!

We have a great day ahead, as it’s Week 18 of the NFL regular season, and we have a nice slate of NBA games. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. For all of the parents with kids and teens, we can all rejoice, as most schools are back in session on Monday. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything, but getting back to the normal routine sounds pretty amazing right now.

There are 5 games on the main slate tonight. If you are looking to sweat the early games, we have projections set for every game and slate in LineupHQ.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, January 4th

Slate Overview

• 5-game main slate
  - 6:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Washington Wizards
  - 6:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 pm ET – Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns
  - 9:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Sacramento Kings
  - 9:30 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers
• 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

Minnesota Timberwolves (at WAS)

We kick off tonight’s main slate with the Wolves, who have the best matchup on the slate. The Wizards are 8th in pace and bottom 5 in basically every defensive category. Minnesota’s team total is 4 points higher than their season average. We know Terrence Shannon is out, but we’ll have to see if anyone is added to the injury report since this is a back-to-back situation.

Anthony Edwards has topped 55 fantasy points in 4 of his last 9 games and has a massive ceiling in this matchup. He’s one of the top spends on the slate. Donte DiVincenzo has scored over 30 fantasy points in 5 of his last 7 games and should fly under the radar in terms of ownership. Jaden McDaniels has struggled over the last 3 games, but this is the type of matchup where he should be able to fill up the stat sheet.

All three bigs from the Wolves are viable here. Julius Randle has the safest floor of them, but he’s also the most expensive. Rudy Gobert’s production has been all over the map, but he has scored over 40 fantasy points in 4 of his last 10 games. Naz Reid is in the same boat as Gobert. He’s volatile, but he has topped 40 fantasy points in 3 of his last 9 games. I’m looking to be overweight on the Wolves.

Washington Wizards (vs. MIN)

The Wizards draw a below-average matchup against the Wolves, who are 15th or better in rebounding rate, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. Washington’s team total is a point lower than their season average. Kyshawn George and Cam Whitmore are out, while Tristan Vukcevic is questionable.

The Wizards are rarely a priority for me in DFS. They are one of the most inconsistent teams in the NBA, and they are constantly on the losing end of blowouts. If forced to choose someone for this slate, I would side with one of the value plays. Justin Champagnie, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington are all priced under $5,000 on DraftKings and projected for minutes in the high 20s.

New Orleans Pelicans (at MIA)

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