{"id":387890,"date":"2026-01-03T00:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387890\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T00:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:18:14","slug":"core-plays-live-for-friday-january-2nd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387890\/","title":{"rendered":"Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 2nd"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n

\"Fox<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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\u2019ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n

\"RG451200x675\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy Friday!<\/p>\n

At this point, you could tell me it was a Monday, and I would believe you. Between the holiday, the kids being home from school, and the crazy sports schedules, every day feels like a blur. It\u2019s not a bad thing by any means, but I am certainly looking forward to things slowing down here in the next couple of weeks. I\u2019m also looking forward to the NFL playoffs. As a Jaguars fan, I have zero expectations each season. That way, anything better than 0-17 is a positive. I don\u2019t want to get my hopes up, but they could make a run in the weak AFC.<\/p>\n

In the association, we have 10 games on the schedule. FanDuel and DraftKings remind me of my parents growing up. They have common interests but are rarely on the same page. FanDuel is rolling out a 10-game main slate, while DraftKings is rolling out a 7-game main slate.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive into the games.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog promo code<\/a> and PrizePicks promo code<\/a>, two of the best DFS apps<\/a> available today.<\/p>\n

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, January 2nd Slate Overview Slate Size \u2013 FanDuel: 10 Games, DraftKings: 7 Games
– 7:00 pm ET \u2013 San Antonio Spurs at Indiana Pacers
– 7:00 pm ET \u2013 Brooklyn Nets at Washington Wizards
– 7:30 pm ET \u2013 Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
– 7:30 pm ET \u2013 Denver Nuggets at Cleveland Cavaliers
– 8:00 pm ET \u2013 Portland Trail Blazers at New Orleans Pelicans
– 8:00 pm ET \u2013 Orlando Magic at Chicago Bulls
– 8:00 pm ET \u2013 Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks
– 9:00 pm ET \u2013 Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns
– 10:00 pm ET \u2013 Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors
– 10:30 pm ET \u2013 Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers NBA DFS Optimizer<\/a> NBA Starting Lineups<\/a> NBA Injury Report<\/a> Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays <\/a> News Updates <\/p>\n

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Team Previews <\/p>\n

\"Castle<\/p>\n

San Antonio Spurs (at IND)<\/p>\n

We kick off tonight\u2019s big slate with the Spurs, who go on the road to take on the Pacers. This is a favorable matchup for fantasy production, as Indiana is 12th in pace and 23rd in points allowed per game. San Antonio\u2019s team total is a point higher than their season average. Victor Wembanyama<\/a> and Devin Vassell<\/a> are both out.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s who benefits the most with Wemby and Vassell off the floor:<\/p>\n

\"SAS1.2.26\"\/<\/p>\n

Naturally, a lot of players on the Spurs are going to have positive RGValues with those two key players out. Stephon Castle<\/a> has seen the biggest usage boost (+8%), while De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> has seen the biggest FP\/min. boost (+0.17). Both are strong plays for cash games and tournaments. Dylan Harper<\/a> has been a solid per-minute producer (1.08 DK \/ 1.07 FD) all season and should see a few extra minutes.<\/p>\n

Harrison Barnes<\/a> is cheap and should see small upticks in minutes and usage. Keldon Johnson<\/a> likely won\u2019t start, but he\u2019ll see an uptick in playing time off the bench. Luke Kornet<\/a> doesn\u2019t seem to have much of a ceiling, but he should see minutes in the upper 20s with increased rebounding potential with Wemby out. We should also bring up Julian Champagnie<\/a>, who is coming off a 50-fantasy-point outing the other night. Don\u2019t be shy with your Spurs exposure.<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers (vs. SAS)<\/p>\n

The Pacers have a difficult matchup on paper, but the Spurs are a much worse defensive team with Wemby out. The Pacers actually have a team total that is 5 points higher than their season average. Obi Toppin<\/a>, Isaiah Jackson<\/a>, and Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> are all out.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my problem with the Pacers \u2014 they aren\u2019t trustworthy. There\u2019s systemic risk with how bad this team has been this season, and there is no consistency on an individual level. If targeting the Pacers, I would only look their way in large-field tournaments. Andrew Nembhard<\/a> has topped 38 fantasy points in 3 of his last 8 games. I prefer him over Bennedict Mathurin<\/a>, who has been held under 36 fantasy points in 8 straight games. Aaron Nesmith<\/a> should be back to playing his full allotment of minutes, but do we really want to target him on a large slate? Pascal Siakam<\/a> is my favorite target here. His price has come down, and he sees a matchup boost with Wemby out.<\/p>\n

Want to read more? Sign up for NBA Premium! <\/p>\n

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\"NBACorePlaysTeaserImage2.0\"\/<\/p>\n

This content can help you make better NBA DFS picks To access this content, subscribe to NBA Premium or purchase a 3-day trial. An NBA subscription will allow you to access this content and much more! Buy NBA Premium!<\/a> <\/p>\n

About the Author <\/p>\n

\"Notorious\" Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)<\/a> <\/p>\n

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master\u2019s Degree from the University of Utah. When he\u2019s not busy providing content, he\u2019s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer\u2019s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on X \u2013 @RG_Notorious<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. He…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-387890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}