Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 20th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-20 23:43:07 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!

I hope everyone’s week got off to a good start yesterday. The kids didn’t have school, so I spent a decent portion of my day chauffeuring them around to different activities. I started to think about when I was a kid. My parents would drop me off somewhere with no means of communication. I had to rely on them picking me up at a certain time and place, and they had to rely on me being there. Every day in the summer, I would spend 10+ hours at the golf course. Every weekend in the winter, I would spend 10+ hours on the ski slopes. And my parents had no way to contact me during any of that. The pre-cell phone days were something else.

For tonight, we have 7 games on the schedule. FanDuel and DraftKings have put aside their differences and have treated us to the same main slates. All 7 games are included on both FanDuel and DraftKings.

Let’s dive into the games.

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NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 20th

Slate Overview

• 7-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 8:00 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets
  - 8:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Chicago Bulls
  - 9:00 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz
  - 10:00 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors
  - 10:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 pm ET – Miami Heat at Sacramento Kings
• 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 PHI)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Suns, who are playing on the second half of a back-to-back. They have a mediocre matchup against the Sixers and enter the game with a team total that is 3 points lower than their season average. Once they release their injury report, I’ll provide an update in the section above.

If Devin Booker is active, he’ll be a secondary spend in my eyes. He has topped 50 fantasy points a grand total of one time over the last two months. I keep trying to make Oso Ighodaro work on short slates, but he seems to save his big games for the larger slates. With Joel Embiid likely out, it’s a good matchup for both Mark Williams and Ighodaro. Both are too risky for cash games, but they make intriguing large-field GPP targets. If everyone is available for Phoenix, I’m perfectly fine fading the likes of Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, and Collin Gillespie.

Philadelphia 76ers (vs. PHO)

The Sixers are also playing on the second half of a back-to-back. They have a brutal matchup against the Suns, who are top 7 in 3-point percentage allowed, defensive rating, and points allowed per game. Philly’s team total is 4 points lower than their season average. Joel Embiid will likely rest here, while Paul George could be active after sitting out last night’s game. We’ll have to see if anyone is added to the injury report.

Let’s see who benefits the most with Embiid off the floor:

If you have played Tyrese Maxey on every slate, you’ve probably had a great season. He has routinely exceeded salary-based expectations, and he rarely garners much ownership. If Embiid is out, he’ll stand out as one of the best spends on the board. He has scored over 55 fantasy points in 5 of his last 10 games. George has seen a 3% usage boost with Embiid off the floor, and he should be rested after sitting out last night’s game. It’s not a great matchup, but I do love his price point. Adem Bona and Andre Drummond are expected to split the minutes at center, but neither player projects well in the context of this slate.

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