Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 7th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-07 23:06:59 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 Wednesday!

Do you remember how I thought I fixed my furnace yesterday? Yeah, that was short-lived. The “fix” lasted for about 15 minutes, which really had nothing to do with me cleaning the flame sensor. I turned the breaker off while cleaning it. Turns out, a hard reset of the furnace allowed it to run again before tripping the high-limit sensor. The actual problem was the blower motor, which was not a cheap fix. Ah, the joys of being a homeowner.

We’ll look to recoup some of those lost funds to the furnace with a win tonight in NBA DFS. We have a massive slate ahead of us, as there are 12 games on the schedule. All 12 are included on FanDuel’s main slate, while only the first 9 are included on DraftKings’ main slate.

Let’s dive into the slate.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Wednesday, January 7th

Slate Overview

• Slate Size – DraftKings: 9 Games, FanDuel: 12 Games
  - 7:00 pm ET – Toronto Raptors at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 pm ET – Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 pm ET – Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:00 pm ET – Denver Nuggets at Boston Celtics
  - 7:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks
  - 7:30 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 pm ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Atlanta Hawks
  - 8:00 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 9:30 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs
  - 10:00 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Portland Trail Blazers
  - 10:00 pm ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:00 PM ET

Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Tim Hardaway are all probable for the Nuggets. Murray is the only player on my radar from Denver.

Brandon Miller is now questionable for the Hornets.

Trae Young is out for the Hawks.

Cade Cunningham is questionable for the Pistons. This is a massive injury we need to monitor.

Trey Murphy and Herb Jones are questionable for the Pelicans. Saddiq Bey and Jose Alvarado are out.

Joel Embiid and Trendon Watford will play for the Sixers.

CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton are out for the Wizards.

Team Previews

Toronto Raptors (at CHA)

We kick off tonight’s big slate with the Raptors, who have a decent matchup on the road against the Raptors. They come into the game with a team total that is 2 points higher than their season average. Jakob Poeltl has been ruled out.

With such a large slate, the very healthy Raptors aren’t priorities. RJ Barrett has topped 35 fantasy points in back-to-back games, and Scottie Barnes feels a tad underpriced on DraftKings ($8,500), but they are better lineup fillers than lineup starters. In large-field tournaments, Collin Murray-Boyles could be worth a look. He started and scored 46 fantasy points on Monday night against the Hawks.

Charlotte Hornets (vs. TOR)

The Hornets have a tough draw at home against the Raptors, who are top 5 in points allowed per game and defensive rating. Charlotte’s team total is 3 points lower than their season average. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee are still out.

Brandon Miller is the lone Hornet with a positive RGValue on this slate. He has topped 40 fantasy points in 3 of his last 5 games and has a usage rate of 28% on the season. Moussa Diabate would deserve consideration on most slates, but we have no shortage of options at center. I will note that he has topped 30 fantasy points in 5 of his last 6 games.

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