Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, January 27th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-27 23:48:05 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 wasn’t on Core Plays duty Friday or Monday, so I decided to take a 4-day break from NBA DFS. I typically only do that during the All-Star Break, but it was a good mental reset. It can be a real grind if you are playing DFS every slate of the season. If you ever feel a little burnt out, take a night or two off. I feel refreshed and ready to get back after it.

For those of you who play PGA DFS, I’ve been working hard to revamp my model. I’m excited to see it in action this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. We also have Brooks Koepka teeing it up in a PGA TOUR event for the first time in years. It should be a fun week, so make sure to check out all of our content. We also have two videos that you can check out — a full breakdown of the slate with STLcardinals and me, and one where I break down my model and talk about my favorite plays and bets.

As for the association, there are 7 games on the schedule. We have a 7-game main slate on FanDuel and a 6-game main slate on DraftKings.

Let’s dive into the games!

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, January 27th

Slate Overview

• Slate Size – FanDuel: 7 Games, DraftKings: 6 Games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Washington Wizards
  - 7:30 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at New York Knicks
  - 8:00 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 9:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
  - 9:00 pm ET – Brooklyn Nets at Phoenix Suns
  - 10:00 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
• 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

Portland Trail Blazers (at WAS)

We kick off tonight’s slate with the Blazers, who have an elite matchup on the road against the Wizards. Portland’s team total is 5 points higher than their season average. This is a back-to-back for them, so we don’t have their injury report yet. Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant are candidates to rest, while Deni Avdija is dealing with a back injury.

With everyone currently in the projections, Avdija is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue. He has topped 50 fantasy points in 5 of his last 8 games and has added motivation tonight since he’s facing his former team. If Avdija is ruled out, a handful of players will see their minutes and/or usage increase. Let’s take a wait-and-see approach for now, and I’ll provide an update on the entire team once we get Portland’s initial injury report.

Washington Wizards (vs. POR)

The Wizards have been a tough team to trust in DFS this season, but they have a solid matchup at home against the Blazers. They are only 7.5-point underdogs and have a team total that is slightly higher than their season average. Trae Young, Marvin Bagley, Cam Whitmore, and Tristan Vukcevic are all out, while Khris Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly are questionable.

Kyshawn George is back to playing like he was at the start of the season. Over his last 4 games, he has averaged over 45 fantasy points per game. His usage rate has been above 29% in each of those 4 games, and now he draws a favorable matchup at home. Tre Johnson has topped 30 fantasy points in 3 of his last 5 games and has logged at least 30 minutes in 4 straight games. He’s a strong value play for both cash games and tournaments. Alex Sarr doesn’t have a high floor, but he’s more than capable of scoring 45+ fantasy points and has a low ownership projection. He’s firmly in play for tournaments. For the rest of the Wizards, let’s wait and see if Middleton and Coulibaly can suit up.

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