NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Tuesday, January 2nd
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.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
First of all, I want to give a shoutout to one of our RotoGrinders members. He read my story about the fireworks on New Year’s Eve and sent me this quote on Twitter:
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
And you know what? I am going to take that advice to heart. Next year, I am going to keep my little man awake and watch the fireworks with him. This a great quote and one we can apply to many aspects of our lives. We might grow old in age, but we can always stay young at heart. And hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
When the sites first started taking the late games off the main slates, I was a little worried they would continue that for smaller slates. While I like the idea for large slates, I don’t like the idea of making small slates even smaller. Thankfully, the two late games this evening are featured on the main slates for both FanDuel and DraftKings.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 2nd
Slate Overview
- 6-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Philadelphia 76ers
- 8:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Oklahoma City Thunder
- 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies
- 8:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at New Orleans Pelicans
- 10:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Golden State Warriors
- 10:00 PM ET – Charlotte Hornets at Sacramento Kings
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Bulls, Grizzlies, Nets, Pelicans, Thunder, Magic, Kings
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Hornets
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- 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
Chicago Bulls (at PHI): For whatever reason, the Bulls are a team that I want to see succeed. Perhaps it’s because they were such a great franchise at one point and have fallen to the depths of the Eastern Conference. Or perhaps I tend to be overweight on a lot of their players, so I find myself rooting for them often. They have won 6 of their last 10 games and are back in the playoff mix. Tonight, they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers, who are top 10 in rebounding rate, points allowed, and defensive rating this season. Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, and Torrey Craig are all out again tonight. Here’s the CourtIQ query with those three off the floor this season:
The large spread here is a concern, but we should expect nice outings from Coby White, DeMar DeRozan, and Andre Drummond if the Bulls keep this game close.
Philadelphia 76ers (vs. CHI): The Sixers have managed to stay competitive without their MVP in the lineup, but he will be back for this game. Tonight, they host the Bulls, who have played at the league’s slowest pace. They aren’t the best defensive team around, but the pace certainly hurts the overall game environment. The Sixers come into the game as large favorites, but their team total is 3.3 points below their season average. Joel Embiid is back tonight, while De’Anthony Melton has been ruled out. We might see Nicolas Batum back in the starting lineup for this one. Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are the only players that project well here.
Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
