Warning: NBA Trade Deadline Ahead – January 18

There was plenty of sports news yesterday, but the biggest story was the NBA trade between the Raptors and Packers. Toronto sent All-Star Pascal Siakam to Indiana for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three first-round draft picks. The Pacers also picked up Kira Lewis Jr. from New Orleans in a separate NBA trade yesterday. There could be plenty more action before the NBA trade deadline, which is Feb. 8. 

The Siakam NBA trade is not the first big one made by Toronto this season. Near the end of December, the Raptors sent O.G. Anunoby and Precious Achuiwa to the New York Knicks. In return, Toronto received R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Right after the trade, the Raptors won two straight and three of four, but then promptly lost four straight before beating the Miami Heat 121-97 last night. 

NBA Trade Deadline Approaching

With the NBA trade deadline coming up soon, there will certainly be a few more trades. Typically, NBA teams that still have a shot at the postseason will look for additions that can help them go deep in the playoffs. Often, good players from teams that are clearly out of the playoff race are targeted in an NBA trade.

Two names that have come up in recent NBA trade rumors are guards Collin Sexton and Tyus Jones. The Lakers have been in search of a point guard that can speed things up on offense. Either Sexton or Jones would fit the bill. Miami has also come up in the discussion as a potential suitor for Jones, but salary cap limitations might prevent the Heat from trading for him. 

Dejounte Murray’s name has come up in other NBA trade rumors. Murray averages 21.0 points a game playing alongside Trae Murray in Atlanta. The Hawks are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, just a game ahead of 11th-place Brooklyn. Murray’s name has come up as a possible NBA trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. LA is looking for a quality guard to help them move up in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers are currently 10th. LA is one game behind ninth-place Utah.

Another Top 3 Sweep for Sports Hub

If this daily leaderboard thing isn’t proof of the skills of our Sports Hub cappers, I don’t know what is. Once again, three of Sports Hub’s finest topped the daily leaderboard. Remember, these are Sports Hub exclusive handicappers. That means you can’t find them anywhere else. Their picks, whether free or premium, are not available anywhere but Sports Hub. You can gain access to those picks just by joining Sports Hub. 

We’ve got hundreds of the best handicappers in the sports betting industry. If you have been reading my daily report (thank you for doing so!), you would know that all of our cappers are great. You can always pick the guys that are hot by using our searchable picks database. For example, basketball is big right now with football season coming to an end. Let’s say you want to bet on the NBA.

You can visit our picks database and search for NBA cappers over different time frames. Let’s say you want guys that have been hot recently. Search for the top NBA cappers over the last 14 days. You’ll find Mike Hawk at the top. Mike just happens to be one of our top-3 today. No surprise there.

Let’s see who joined him at the top of the board.

• The return of Sal Lombardi: It sounds like it could be a solid movie about organized crime. The only crime Sal committed yesterday was that he was just too damn good at predicting basketball games. Sal went 9-5 yesterday on a combination of NBA and CBB picks. He totaled $350 in winnings and that gives him a total of $640 for the last seven days.
• Mike Hawk: As I mentioned, Mike is the top NBA capper over the last 14 days. Yesterday, he went 3-1 on his NBA picks and won $262. Over the last three days, he’s up $518 with the majority of his picks made on NBA games.
• No. 3: James Acker also went 3-1 and he earned $260 yesterday. James is no stranger to the top of the board. He’s actually on a few of my leaderboards. He’s No. 2 on the 14-day leaderboard with $1248 in winnings over the last two weeks. James is also No. 3 on the 7-day NHL leaderboard. He’s up $370 for the week on his NHL picks.

Several NBA Trade Rumors Out There

The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 8 and the Indiana Pacers made a big move yesterday when they acquired Pascal Siakam from Toronto. The Pacers, who lead the NBA in scoring (125.6 ppg), are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. Adding Siakam gives Indiana another proven scorer (22.2 ppg) who also plays solid defense. With the Siakam trade in the books, there are more deals likely to happen. 

• NBA trade rumors: The big names on the NBA trade deadline list include Sexton, Jones, Murray, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Quentin Grimes, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Stay tuned into the NBA trade rumors as it will have an effect on how you bet on teams over the second half of the season.
• Bad news for the Warriors: Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died as the result of a heart attack suffered on Tuesday night. The Warriors, who may be involved before the NBA trade deadline, were supposed to play Utah last night, but the game was postponed. Milojevic was a star player in his home country of Serbia and served as a mentor to two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.

• McCarthy safe: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it official by announcing that head coach Mike McCarthy will return for a fifth season. The Cowboys lost in last week’s wild card round to Green Bay.

Thursday’s Sports Schedule

It won’t be long until we get the NFL’s divisional round of the postseason. That will be here on Saturday. Until then, we have a ton of basketball, both NBA and college, as well as a long list of NHL games on the schedule tonight. There is plenty to choose from.

What will you be betting on tonight?

1. NBA: It’s TNT doubleheader night tonight. Chicago is at Toronto one night after the Raptors made that big NBA trade yesterday. No more Siakam in the lineup for Toronto. Memphis is at Minnesota in the late game, one night after the TWolves beat Detroit 124-117.
2. NHL: The NHL has a big night with 11 games on the ice. There is an ESPN+/Hulu doubleheader. The first game has Minnesota at Tampa Bay. The nightcap pits Nashville at Los Angeles. 

3. Soccer: None of the world’s top soccer leagues are playing today. Check the schedule for matches around the world. Then check our picks database.
4. College basketball: No. 1 UConn beat Creighton 62-48 last night. Tonight, only two ranked teams play. No. 10 Memphis hosts South Florida and No. 23 Florida Atlantic plays at home against Wichita State in an American Athletic Conference clash.
5. Australian Open: More second round action in the Australian Open takes place today for both men and women.