Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 13th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-13 23:23:52 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 Tuesday!

After the Texans trounced the Steelers, Wild Card Weekend is officially in the books. We have four tremendous matchups on tap for the Divisional Round. We will have you covered for all of your NFL DFS needs this week. The PGA TOUR is back in action this week as well, so be on the lookout for all of our usual PGA DFS content.

As far as the association is concerned, we have 7 games on the schedule. However, only the first 5 games are included on the main slates for both FanDuel and DraftKings. For the second straight evening, the two sites have had the same number of games on their slates, so perhaps they made a pact to be more cohesive in 2026.

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NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 13th

Slate Overview

• 5-game main slate
  - 7:30 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Miami Heat
  - 8:00 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Houston Rockets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 10:30 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Lakers (not on main slate)
  - 11:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors (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

Phoenix Suns (at MIA)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Suns, who draw a pace-up matchup against the Heat, who are 1st in pace and 22nd in points allowed per game. Phoenix enters the game with a team total that is identical to their season average. Jalen Green has been ruled out.

Devin Booker feels underpriced, but he has underwhelmed most of the season. He has been held under 35 fantasy points in 3 of his last 4 games and has only topped 50 fantasy points one time in the last two months. Fading him has rarely been costly in tournaments. Dillon Brooks has flashed more per-dollar upside than Booker and is worth a look in tournaments. This is a small slate, but I’m not sure I want to invest in the likes of Royce O’Neale, Collin Gillespie, and Grayson Allen. Mark Williams is known as a high-upside player, but we haven’t seen much of that this season. I would rather take the discount and target Oso Ighodaro, who has topped 24 fantasy points in 3 of the last 6 games.

Miami Heat (vs. PHO)

The Heat draw a difficult matchup at home against the Suns, who are 7th or better in 3-point percentage allowed, points allowed per game, and defensive rating. Miami’s team total is 4 points lower than their season average. To make matters worse, this is the healthiest the Heat have been all season. Norman Powell is questionable.

With Powell in the projections, there’s not a player on the Heat with a positive RGValue in LineupHQ. There are certainly better matchups to exploit, so I will not be prioritizing anyone on Miami. However, let’s see who could benefit if Powell is unable to suit up:

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