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The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks will battle in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday. Philadelphia earned its first win of the series in Game 3 with a 125-114 victory on Thursday. The Knicks (50-32), the No. 2 seed in the East, have won eight of their last 10 games. The 76ers (47-35), the No. 7 seed, have won 10 of their last 12 games.

Tip-off from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is set for 1 p.m. ET. Philadelphia is a 5.5-point favorite in the latest Knicks vs. 76ers odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 209.5. Before making any 76ers vs. Knicks picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the second week of the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 90-58 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,800. Anyone following has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Knicks vs. 76ers and just locked in its picks and NBA playoff predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for 76ers vs. Knicks:

Knicks vs. 76ers spread: Philadelphia -5.5
Knicks vs. 76ers over/under: 209.5 points
Knicks vs. 76ers money line: New York +169, Philadelphia -204
NY: The Knicks have hit the money line in 50 of their last 79 games (+17.05 units)
PHI: The 76ers have hit the fourth quarter game total over in 48 of their last 80 games (+13.70 units)
Knicks vs. 76ers picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the 76ers can cover
Center Joel Embiid has dominated the Knicks throughout his career. In 19 career regular-season games, he is 16-3 and is averaging 25.5 points and 10.7 rebounds. Embiid produced a playoff-career-high 50 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range in Game 3. Embiid became the first player in NBA history with at least 50 points on fewer than 20 shot attempts in a playoff game. His 37.7 points per game in the first round leads the NBA.

Point guard Kyle Lowry has had a solid series so far, averaging 11.7 points, four rebounds, three assists, 1.3 steals and one block in 34.3 minutes. He scored 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in the Game 1 loss at New York. He has reached double-digit scoring in 21 games this season, including the playoffs. Lowry has had a lot of success against the Knicks throughout his career. In 33 games against them, he is averaging 16.6 points, 6.4 assists, five rebounds and 1.6 steals in 32.3 minutes. See which team to pick here.

Why the Knicks can cover
Point guard Jalen Brunson continues to carry the New York offense. In Game 3, he registered his first double-double of the postseason with 39 points and 13 assists in 45 minutes of action. He had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists in Game 2. He has upped his game during the postseason and in three games, is averaging 28.3 points, 8.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 41.7 minutes.

Shooting guard Josh Hart has more than doubled his regular-season scoring average and is a big reason New York leads the series. He has registered two double-doubles in the playoffs, including a 22-point and 13-rebound performance in Game 1. In Game 2, he scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. In three playoff games, Hart is averaging 21 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 44.3 minutes. See which team to pick here.

How to make 76ers vs. Knicks picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Over on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 219 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only get the model’s pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Knicks vs. 76ers, and which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,800 on its NBA picks this season, and find out.

Joel Embiid put together a masterful performance Thursday night to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a win over the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff matchup. The Knicks still hold a 2-1 series advantage, but Embiid’s 50-point outburst gave the Sixers life in this series and showed why he’s the reigning league MVP. But after the game, the attention shifted away from Embiid’s scoring to his face, which had been visibly drooping, while his left eye hadn’t been blinking. Embiid confirmed during the postgame press conference he had been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy last week, dating back to before the Sixers’ play-in game against the Miami Heat.

“It’s pretty annoying. My left side of my face, my mouth and my eye, so yeah, it’s been tough,” Embiid said. “But I’m not a quitter, so I got to keep fighting through anything. It’s unfortunate, that’s the way I look at it. That’s not an excuse, I got to keep pushing.”

Embiid had reportedly been trying to keep the diagnosis under wraps, but after Thursday night’s game, it became difficult to ignore the way it was affecting his face.

What is Bell’s palsy?
Here’s how Johns Hopkins Medicine defines it:

“Bell’s palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. It begins suddenly and worsens over 48 hours. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve. Pain and discomfort usually occur on one side of the face or head.”

Embiid has been wearing sunglasses while talking to media, or holding his head down to not show his face, as he was likely trying to avoid attention surrounding it. He said the symptoms started a day or two before the Heat game on April 17, as he was dealing with a bad migraine. According to Johns Hopkins, Bell’s palsy most often occurs in people who have diabetes, the flu, a cold or other respiratory illness, as well as pregnant women. The cause of the paralysis is unknown, but Johns Hopkins says, “It is thought that it may be due to inflammation that is directed by the body’s immune system against the nerve controlling movement of the face.” Bell’s palsy can impact anyone of any age, and while it’s not considered permanent, in rare cases it could remain. However, most people diagnosed with Bell’s palsy end up regaining full strength in their facial muscles.

What are the symptoms of Bell’s palsy?
Embiid is experiencing most of the common symptoms of Bell’s palsy, including loss of feeling in the face, headache and “disordered movement” of the muscles in the face that control smiling, blinking, squinting and closing your eye. But other symptoms, according to Johns Hopkins, are tearing, drooling, loss of taste on the front of your tongue, hypersensitivity to sound in the affected ear, and inability to close your eye on the affected side of your face.

How do you treat Bell’s palsy?
If Bell’s palsy is being caused by something specific, like having the flu or cold, then it would be treated by taking flu or cold medicine. If there isn’t a specific cause, Johns Hopkins says that treatment options include ensuring the impacted eye remains protected with eye drops or an ointment. Antiviral medication can be taken, and so can a steroid that will help with the inflammation. Physical therapy to help stimulate the facial nerves is an option, or applying heat to the affected area to relieve pain.

Bell’s palsy typically resolves over time, and given that Embiid has been able to play for the past week — and drop 50 points on Thursday — it doesn’t appear to be affecting him too severely where it is impacting his game. People impacted by Bell’s palsy often start to recover two weeks to six months after symptoms first started. Since Embiid began experiencing symptoms a couple of days before April 17, he could hopefully be nearing the road to recovery soon.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ injury woes have worsened during their first-round series with the Indiana Pacers. All-Star point guard Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 Achilles tendon strain and will miss Game 4 on Sunday, the team announced.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has not played since April 9 due to a lingering calf strain.

Late in the fourth quarter of their heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 3, the Bucks were trying to foul to extend the game when Lillard re-aggravated his Achilles. Though it went largely unnoticed in real time, you can see Lillard limping as he goes to pick up Patrick Beverley on the replay. While Lillard remained in the game the rest of the way, he did not take a shot in the extra frame.

After the game, Damian Lillard clarified that his Achilles aggravation occurred on this play at the end of regulation and not on the foul by Pascal Siakam in the first quarter.

(You can see Lillard wince as he goes to pick up Patrick Beverley.) pic.twitter.com/M4nnU43Nqa

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 27, 2024
“Honestly, Dame was really struggling,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after Game 3. “In the overtime, he literally said, ‘I’ll be the decoy. I just can’t go as far as explosion.’ So I thought Dame just being out there was huge for us.”

Lillard said during his post-game press conference that his “plan” was to play in Game 4.

“I think tonight, it was just so fresh, just re-aggravated after having a whole week where you could kind of get it together,” Lillard said. “But I just wanted to be on the floor in case some opportunity came up, or however I could help. But obviously, tonight, we’re gonna get back and just have to get ahead of it because that’s not something you want to play with.

“It’s one of those spots on your body where you literally can’t do nothing about it. If you can’t move, you can’t move. So we got a couple days, tonight, to start to try to get ahead of it and just get it feeling better, try to get ready for Sunday.”

The Achilles injury wasn’t the only scare during the game for Lillard. Late in the first quarter, he drove to the basket for a tough layup and Pascal Siakam landed on his ankle. Lillard twisted his knee in the process and stayed down on the ground in clear pain before hobbling to the bench and down the tunnel. His stay in the locker room turned out to be brief, however, and he hit some big shots to get the Bucks back in the game. While Lillard said his knee was “a little uncomfortable” the rest of the way, he didn’t feel like he was putting himself in “danger.”

Damian Lillard has limped off the floor.#FearTheDeer #NBA pic.twitter.com/GAWazT6D2D

— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) April 26, 2024
Lillard sat out of practice for a few days in the lead up to Game 1 of this series in order to address some nagging injuries, including a sore Achilles. Though he admitted he was initially “concerned,” the time off helped him get right and he felt like himself to start the series.

That was evident as he poured in a record-setting 35 points in the first half of Game 1. In the other five halves in this series, though, he has a combined 62 points on 16-of-46 (34.7%) from the field. As a result, the Bucks have dropped Games 2 and 3 and now find themselves down 2-1 in the series.

A hampered Lillard is the last thing the Bucks need in the circumstances. Khris Middleton sprained his ankle in Game 2 but came back and was able to summon the strength for a throwback performance on Friday. It would be asking a lot for him to do that again in Game 4 on a bum ankle. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, remains out indefinitely.

We’ve got another exciting Central Division matchup on Thursday’s NBA schedule as the Indiana Pacers will host the Detroit Pistons. Indiana is 31-25 overall and 17-11 at home, while Detroit is 8-46 overall and 4-23 on the road. The Pacers have won the two previous matchups this season after the teams split four meetings last season. The Pistons are 27-27 versus the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while the Pacers are 29-25-3 versus the number.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Pacers are favored by 11.5 points in the latest Pistons vs. Pacers odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 246.5 points. Before entering any Pacers vs. Pistons picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 60-36 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model has set its sights on Detroit vs. Indiana. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Pistons vs. Pacers:

Pacers vs. Pistons spread: Pacers -11.5
Pacers vs. Pistons over/under: 246.5 points
Pacers vs. Pistons money line: Pacers: -705, Pistons: +497
Pacers vs. Pistons picks: See picks at SportsLine
What you need to know about the Pacers
The oddsmakers set the bar high, but the Pacers and the Toronto Raptors didn’t disappoint and broke past the 245.5 point over/under last Wednesday. Indiana skirted past the Raptors 127-125. Indiana’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tyrese Haliburton led the charge by shooting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and dropping a double-double on 21 points and 12 assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Pascal Siakam, who scored 23 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.

Indiana’s offense has slowed a bit since a hot start to the season, but it still leads the NBA in points per game and field goal percentage while ranking second in offensive rating. Siakam is shooting a blistering 57.1% from the floor since being traded from Toronto, and he’s filling up the box score with averages of 21.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists with the Pacers. Indiana has seven players on its current roster averaging in double-figures, but one of those in Aaron Nesmith (12.6 ppg) is out on Thursday with an ankle injury. See which team to pick here.

What you need to know about the Pistons
Meanwhile, the Pistons’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher last Wednesday after their third straight loss. They took a hard 116-100 fall against the Phoenix Suns. The Pistons have struggled against the Suns recently, as their match last Wednesday was their seventh consecutive lost matchup. New acquisition Simone Fontecchio led Detroit with 18 points in the defeat.

Detroit made lots of transactions before the trade deadline, but a couple of constants have been Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. The former leads the team with 21.9 points and 7.5 assists, while Duren is fifth in the NBA with 12 rebounds per game, to go along with 14 points per night. Detroit owns a sparkling 12-4 ATS record over its last 16 games. See which team to pick here.

Key Betting Info
Some of the betting trends to consider are:

The Pistons are 9-4 against the spread in their last 13 games when the spread was between +10 to +13.
The Pacers are 27-17-3 against the spread in their last 47 games after a day off.
The Pistons are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games vs teams that win 45-55 percent of games.
How to make Pacers vs. Pistons picks
The model has simulated Pistons vs. Pacers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

The New Orleans Pelicans (33-22) will aim for their fourth straight victory when they host the Houston Rockets (24-30) on Thursday night. New Orleans won seven of its final eight games before the All-Star break, including a 133-126 win against Washington last Wednesday. Houston has lost five of its last six games, falling to Memphis on the road its last time out. The Pelicans picked up a 110-99 win against the Rockets when these teams met at the end of January.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans are favored by 7 points in the latest Pelicans vs. Rockets odds, while the over/under is 229 points via SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Rockets vs. Pelicans picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 60-36 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model has set its sights on Houston-New Orleans. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:

Pelicans vs. Rockets spread: Pelicans -7
Pelicans vs. Rockets over/under: 229 points
Pelicans vs. Rockets money line: Pelicans: -281, Rockets: +230
Pelicans vs. Rockets picks: See picks here
Why the Pelicans can cover
New Orleans is in excellent form right now, having won seven of its last eight games to move into sixth place in the Western Conference. The Pelicans picked up road wins against the Clippers, Trail Blazers and Grizzlies during that stretch before beating Washington at home last Wednesday. Zion Williamson scored a team-high 36 points on 15 of 21 shooting, while CJ McCollum had 26 points.

They started their current hot streak with a 110-99 win at Houston on Jan. 31, which also started Houston’s current rough patch. Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points and 14 rebounds in that game, while Brandon Ingram also posted a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. New Orleans has covered the spread in five of its last six home games against Houston.

Why the Rockets can cover
Houston lost to New Orleans in the most recent meeting, but it won two matchups against the Pelicans earlier this season. The Rockets were 3-point home favorites in their 104-101 win in November and were 7.5-point road underdogs in their 106-104 win in December. They are only 3.5 games back of the final play-in tournament spot, so motivation should not be an issue in this game.

The All-Star break was well timed for Houston, as it gave third-leading scorer Fred VanVleet time to recover from an adductor strain. He is averaging 16.5 points per game, and he is going to be back on the court after missing five games. Cam Whitmore, who is also in double figures with 11.9 points per game, is going to return from a three-game injury absence of his own. See which team to pick here.

How to make Pelicans vs. Rockets picks
The model has simulated Rockets vs. Pelicans 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Los Angeles Clippers in a Western Conference clash on Thursday’s NBA schedule. Oklahoma City is 37-17 overall and 21-6 at home, while Los Angeles is 36-17 overall and 16-11 on the road. The teams have split their two matchups this season, with the home team winning each time. OKC is 33-20-1 against the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while Los Angeles is 29-24 versus the line.

Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Thunder are favored by 1 point in the latest Clippers vs. Thunder odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 235.5 points. Before entering any Thunder vs. Clippers picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 60-36 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model has set its sights on Los Angeles vs. Oklahoma City. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Clippers vs. Thunder:

Thunder vs. Clippers spread: Thunder -1
Thunder vs. Clippers over/under: 235.5 points
Thunder vs. Clippers money line: Thunder: -115, Clippers: -105
Thunder vs. Clippers picks: See picks at SportsLine
What you need to know about the Thunder
The Orlando Magic typically have all the answers at home, but last Tuesday the Thunder proved too difficult a challenge. They beat the Magic by the very same score they won with last week: 127-113. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunder. OKC’s success was spearheaded by the efforts of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points to go along with five assists and two steals, while Jalen Williams dropped 33 points.

OKC is arguably the best-shooting team in the NBA, leading the league in free throw percentage while ranking second in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. It also brings it defensively, leading the league with 6.7 blocks per game and ranking third with 8.1 steals per night. The Thunder have the second-best cover percentage in the NBA, but they are just 3-6 ATS over their last nine games. See which team to pick here.

What you need to know about the Clippers
Meanwhile, Los Angeles didn’t have too much breathing room in its matchup against the Golden State Warriors last Wednesday, but it still walked away with a 130-125 win. The Clippers were down 59-44 with 1:21 left in the second quarter but they still came back for the handy five-point victory. Among those leading the charge was James Harden, who scored 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists, while Norman Powell had 21 points off the bench.

Kawhi Leonard did not play in that game, but L.A. has no injuries to report for Thursday’s contest. In his 12th NBA season, Leonard is shooting career-bests from the field (52.7%), from the 3-point line (45.3%) and from the free throw line (89.1%). Los Angeles owns a 27-8 straight-up record this season when it has Leonard, Harden and Paul George in the starting lineup, and when Russell Westbrook is not in the starting lineup. See which team to pick here.

Key Betting Info
Gilgeous-Alexander will likely loom large in the final result, win or lose. For the season, he has averaged 31.1 points, 2.2 steals, and 6.5 assists.

Some of the betting trends to consider are:

The Clippers are 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games when the spread was between +1 to +3.5.
The Thunder are 15-7 against the spread in their last 22 games when favored at home.
The Clippers are 3-6 against the spread in their last 9 games as the road underdog.
How to make Thunder vs. Clippers picks
The model has simulated Clippers vs. Thunder 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that hits well over 50% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

Five games will make up Thursday’s NBA schedule. The recent Pascal Siakam blockbuster trade that sent the All-Star forward from the Raptors to the Pacers will impact the lineups for those teams on Thursday night, though Siakam is not expected to play with his new squad. There are other options on the slate we feel will be strong fantasy plays.

Are you looking for strong returns? Here’s who you should keep an eye on as you look to build optimal lineups:

The new-look New York Knicks are now 7-2 and Brunson has flourished since RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were swapped for OG Anunoby. The point guard has averaged 25.9 points, 8.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds over his previous seven games. Thursday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards should be a cakewalk. Brunson has tallied at least 32 points, seven assists, and three rebounds in each of two meetings with Washington this season. Fantasy managers should expect another big scoring night.

Vucevic has been back in the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls after serving as a reserve shortly after returning from injury. Bam Adebayo couldn’t capitalize on the Toronto Raptors’ lack of bigs, but Vucevic will. He’s racked up four double-doubles in his last five games while averaging 18.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per contest. Vucevic should dominate against a Raptors squad whose frontcourt took a big hit after dealing Siakam to the Indiana Pacers.

Jackson is about to explode and become fantasy-relevant every week. The Memphis Grizzlies forward has needed to step up for his depleted team and enters Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves having amassed at least 20 points, six rebounds, and two blocks in each of his last two games. The rookie has a path to tons of playing time whether games are competitive or not. Gary Trent Jr. is the only similar cheap value play that can match Jackson’s ceiling.

In his opening statement at his press conference on Thursday, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said, “It’s a tough couple weeks for us here with the trades we’ve made.” The previous day, Toronto traded Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers. Just before the new year, the team traded OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks. Both were drafted by the Raptors, and both have championship rings from the 2019 season.

Later in the hourlong media availability, Ujiri said that he’d recently had an “incredible” and “honest” conversation with Siakam in Los Angeles. He also said, however, that he could have been more communicative with the two-time All-Star during the 2023 offseason.

“I think the lines of communication in the summer were not that great,” Ujiri told reporters. “Just because sometimes I don’t have answers. And sometimes the answer that I’m giving you is the same answer that I’m going to give you the next time I speak to you. But based on my relationship, Pascal deserved that I even gave him the over-communication, which I didn’t, and I apologized to him for it. I apologized to him before the season started, and I apologized to him again recently. So that part, I’m not particularly proud of, but there are so many things in our business that bring about this type of communication or non-communication.”

The pair of trades, Uijri said, gives Toronto what it was looking for as it builds around Scottie Barnes, who won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and might make his first All-Star appearance next month.

“When you look at both trades, I think we accomplished a couple things that we are trying to do, if you put them together,” Ujiri said. “Young players, picks and flexibility of our team going into the future. And that’s how strategically we have to look at this.”

The Raptors could have charted a course like this before last season’s deadline or before this season began. Why now?

“Obviously, I think the uncertainty of free agency is a big factor,” Ujiri said. “I think we also looked at the trend of the team. We’ve tried to give it as much time as we can. And I know there are a lot of questions after last season — ‘Why didn’t we do something at the trade deadline?’ — but we look at the fits of the team, we looked at the emergence of Scottie and we’ve also looked at the age, and coming down a little bit younger and growing. Honestly, a lot of factors.”

Siakam and Anunoby are both set to be free agents this summer, and they are due hefty paydays. The whole league knew Toronto would have to figure out what it was going to do with them eventually, which is why their names have been in trade rumors for more than a year.

“I am patient,” Ujiri said. “I was maybe to a fault. I was patient with that team last year because I believed in them. I believed in those players, I believed in what they brought. But now we have to look to the future.”

Despite that “maybe to a fault” line, Ujiri repeatedly defended the decision to trade their top-six protected pick in this year’s draft to the San Antonio Spurs for Jakob Poeltl at last year’s deadline. “We thought it was good value to get a starting center for a pick,” Ujiri said. “And we still think that.” He also said that, in his opinion, last year’s roster “deserved us to give them more than half a season” before giving up on it.

Asked directly if he wishes he had traded Siakam or Anunoby sooner, Ujiri said, “No, I don’t.”

Ujiri said that the front office looked at possible trades around last year’s draft and again in the offseason, and “what was available was not what we wanted to do.” He said that the return the Raptors eventually got “pretty much balances out” when compared to the offers that were on the table back then.

“This is what was there for us,” Ujiri said. “And we measured it with what was there for us in the past. And it was consistent. And we decided to move on it.”

Toronto will likely have three first-round picks in this June’s draft, plus an early second-rounder, but that doesn’t mean Ujiri is suddenly all-in on a draft class that is widely regarded to be weaker than average. “We have to look at it as flexibility,” he said. “You can consolidate these picks. You don’t have to pick ’em. You can trade ’em.” For a team that is not in win-now mode, it is best to have more future firsts coming in than going out.

“Are we going to take three picks in that draft? I strongly doubt it, that’s not the plan for now,” Ujiri said. “But I think we’ll make good use [of them] and we’ll scout it the best possible way we can.”

Asked about the possibility of retaining Siakam and revisiting the trade market later, Ujiri said, “I’ve gone into every detail, every single detail. My team has gone into every single detail on how we measure him staying or us doing this deal. And fit comes into it. And when we think of fit, we think strategically, we think on the court, with Scottie Barnes, who has emerged to be the player we are going to like build around. And also we have to think about financials.”

Left unsaid was that, if signed to a long-term, more lucrative contract, Siakam’s trade value could have decreased. Siakam turns 30 in April.

Ujiri said that “the hardest thing to do” as an NBA executive is to find a player like Barnes. He said he doesn’t have an answer as to how long Toronto’s rebuild will take, but the front office is studying it, as it tries to surround Barnes with players that maximize him.

“I think we started with Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett,” Ujiri said. “Shooting, I think athletic players, players with basketball IQ, young players. We have to start building spacing. Those kind of things are going to be important.”

As well as praising the guys the Raptors got from the Knicks, Ujiri described Bruce Brown, acquired from Indiana, as “one of the toughest players in the NBA.” He said he was excited to see Kira Lewis Jr. and Jordan Nwora, noting that he’s good friends with Nwora’s father and has known the wing since he was five. Asked about trying to push for the play-in this season versus trying to maximize the odds of retaining their protected pick, Ujiri said they will “play the right way,” implying that, at least for now, there’s no plan to repeat the “Tampa Tank” that brought them Barnes in 2021.

“We are going to play to win,” Ujiri said. “We are going to coach these guys and teach them and play to win. Whatever that brings us, we will deal with and we will prepare for. We are going to be well prepared for any scenario that comes our way.”

The entire NBA is mourning the loss of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, who died of a heart attack on Tuesday night. Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was good friends with Milojevic and wanted to honor him on Wednesday.

In the Raptors’ 121-97 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, Rajakovic called a play that he learned from Milojevic on his team’s first possession. It resulted in a three-pointer from Gary Trent Jr.

An emotional Rajakovic addressed the media after the NBA, and he dedicated the victory to Milojevic.

“I told my guys I loved them,” Rajakovic said. “Opening play of the game was an ATO play that Decky, my friend, I learned that play from him. That’s what he brought to the NBA. That’s what he brought to Golden State. I stole that play from him, and that was our opening play tonight, and we were able to score on that one. I dedicated this win to our team and Decky.”

The Raptors also posted a video of the postgame locker room celebration on social media. Assistant coach Jama Mahlalela presented Rajakovic with the team chain, and the Raptors head coach told his team, “Love you all.”

Shoutout Coach 🫶

Open Gym: Moment presented by @Bell pic.twitter.com/76Z9WgEjLc

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 18, 2024
Milojevic, like Rajakovic, was an up-and-coming Serbian coach in the NBA. The Warriors hired Milojevic in 2021, and he became just the second Serbian assistant coach to win an NBA title when the Warriors knocked off the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals.

The Memphis Grizzlies seemingly can’t catch a break when it comes to significant injury news. First, they lost superstar point guard Ja Morant (shoulder) for the season shortly after his return from a 25-game suspension. Since, fellow guards Marcus Smart (finger) and Desmond Bane (ankle) have suffered injuries that could cost them six weeks each. But for keen daily Fantasy basketball players, injury signals opportunity. Players that go under the radar in the NBA DFS player pool can now be those value options that when combined with an elite player having a monster performance can lead to a huge payout.

Vince Williams Jr., a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, is averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and six assists over his last two games compared to averaging 6.9 points per game on the season for the Grizzlies. Luke Kennard, David Roddy and Gregory Jackson are three other Memphis players from the NBA DFS player pool who went from averaging single-digit points all season to double-digits over the last two contests. Should you include any of these Grizzlies against the Timberwolves when making NBA DFS lineups? Before making your NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.

McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He’s also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account.

This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

On Tuesday (when he last published picks), McClure highlighted Clippers guard James Harden as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Harden had 16 points, five rebounds, eight assists and a block, returning 37.75 points on DraftKings and 36 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, January 18
For Thursday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who is listed at $8,500 on DraftKings and $8,900 on FanDuel. Brunson is coming off his second straight 30-point game, finishing with 30 points and seven assists in a 109-94 win over the Rockets on Friday. He’s scored at least 30 points in three of his last four contests and is averaging 27.5 points and 7.5 assists over his last six contests.

The Knicks play the Wizards, who have the worst scoring defense in the NBA this season while allowing 125.3 points per game. Washington is coming off a 129-117 loss to the Pistons, who have a chance to finish with the worst win percentage in NBA history. Brunson had 33 points and eight assists against the Wizards on January 6 and has scored at least 32 points in four of six games with the Knicks against Washington. McClure expects another huge performance from Brunson.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Raptors guard/forward RJ Barrett ($6,600 on DraftKings and $6,800 on FanDuel). Barrett had 26 points and eight rebounds in a 121-97 win over the Heat on Wednesday. The 23-year-old is averaging 20.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists over nine contests since being acquired from the Knicks.

The Raptors host the Bulls on Thursday for their third straight home game, and Barrett is averaging 25 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over the first two games of the homestand. Barrett, a Toronto native, is playing stellar basketball in his hometown, which is no surprise, especially with how little he’s been able to play there thus far. Thursday will be just Barrett’s fourth home game despite his 10th overall contest with the Raptors. Barrett had 44 points against the Bulls with the Knicks last season, and McClure likes his value to NBA DFS lineups on Thursday. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, January 18
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday because of a dream matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.