Month: November 2022

On Monday, Pacers big Myles Turner lobbied for the Los Angeles Lakers to think long and hard about trading for him.

After parting ways with Steve Nash on Tuesday, the Nets are reportedly set to hire the Celtics Ime Udoka.

The Chicago Bears are reportedly acquiring Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a second-round pick (not the one received from the Baltimore Ravens in the Roquan Smith trade). Colin Cowherd reacts to the news.

Good afternoon, it’s NFL trade deadline day and it’s already been a newsy day in the NFL and beyond. Let’s get you caught up to speed.

In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:

• Where the Nets’ odds stand with Steve Nash out
• Waiver wire players to add ahead of Week 9
• Midseason fantasy awards and second-half predictions
• Astros-Phillies World Series Game 3 bets
• College Football Playoff rankings predictions

Nets and Nash Part Ways Amid 2-5 Start

It was announced Tuesday afternoon that Brooklyn and Nash parted ways just seven games into the season. Nash had a 94-67 record across three seasons as the Nets’ coach.

Brooklyn entered the season with +700 odds to win the NBA Finals, tied for the fourth-best odds at SI Sportsbook. After this rocky start, despite the phenomenal play of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (who is at the heart of yet another controversy), those odds have fallen to +1000, which is sixth-best behind the Celtics (+550), Warriors (+600), Bucks (+600), Clippers (+700) and Suns (+850).

The Nets are +400 to miss the playoffs and -654 to make the postseason. In the most recent SI NBA power rankings, they checked in at No. 23 following an 0-4 week.

The news out of Brooklyn comes the day after the team won just its second game of the season and hours ahead of a nationally televised game against the Bulls. Get the odds for that game, as well as the rest of Tuesday night NBA slate here.

Fields, Likely Among Top Adds with Six Teams on Bye

There’s still time remaining before the NFL’s 4 p.m ET trade deadline, so keep an eye on the transaction log to keep up with the latest happening around the league.

Already, the Vikings dealt for Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson with Irv Smith Jr. (ankle) headed to injured reserve and the Bears traded for Steelers receiver Chase Claypool.

Thankfully, the fantasy football trade deadline isn’t for a couple more weeks, so there’s still plenty of time to reshape your team if need be. Plenty of managers will be in need of spot starts at virtually every position this week with a whopping six teams on bye: Cowboys, 49ers, Broncos, Steelers, Saints, Browns.

The sheer scarcity brought on by the bye will send everyone scrambling to the waiver wire for running back fill-ins, quarterback streamers, wide receiver options and tight end dart throws. So which players should you put in claims for?

Jen Piacenti has recommendations from Justin Fields to Rondale Moore to Ravens rookie Isaiah Likely. See which other free agents she likes and how much FAAB you should spend to get them. And Matt De Lima has an in-depth IDP waiver wire breakdown as well.

The end of Week 8 marks the (almost) halfway point of the season, so the SI Fantasy crew has takeaways from last week, a midseason report card and bold predictions for the second half of the season.

Read Craig Ellenport on D.J. Moore and Alvin Kamara’s big games, Michael Fabiano on what we learned last week, yours truly on midseason MVP, biggest bust and more and one bold prediction from each of our writers for the final nine games of the year.

See what the league’s hierarchy looks like with another installment of NFL power rankings and look ahead to the Week 9 betting slate.

World Series Resumes Tonight After Rain Postponed Game 3

The elements pushed back Game 3 of the World Series, which was originally supposed to take place Monday night in Philadelphia. Instead, the Astros and Phillies pick back up Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park with a clearer forecast for the evening and the series tied at one game apiece.

Emma Baccellieri explained what the delay means for the rest of the series, Matt Martell asked three questions for the three games set to be played in Philly and Jen Piacenti has the betting breakdown for Game 3, in which Houston is favored on the road.

The Astros are -175 to win the series at SI Sportsbook and the Phillies are +150. The favorite to win World Series MVP is currently J.T. Realmuto (+400), followed by Kyle Tucker (+600), Alex Bregman (+700) and Framber Valdez (+700).

Tuesday
8:03 p.m. ET (Fox): Astros (-125) vs. Phillies | Series tied, 1-1

Wednesday
8:03 p.m. ET (Fox): Astros vs. Phillies | World Series Game 4

Thursday
8:03 p.m. ET (Fox): Astros vs. Phillies | World Series Game 5

In Other News

SI’s Preseason Women’s CBB Top 25: To no surprise, South Carolina, the reigning champ, occupies the No. 1 spot. Texas, Stanford, UConn and Louisville all find themselves in the top 10 with hopes of unseating Dawn Staley’s squad.

Projecting the Initial CFP Ranking: The first round of College Football Playoff rankings will be announced Tuesday night ahead of perhaps the game of the year: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Georgia. Where will the SEC schools stand? And how much room is there for the Big Ten and ACC?

Top Men’s CBB Games to Watch this Year: The start of the season is just days away and we’re already looking ahead to the marquee matchups, like Duke-UNC and Kansas-Kentucky. See which other games there are to look forward to and when they’re taking place.

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Thanks for reading Winners Club! I won’t be back in your inbox until Sunday morning, so be sure to set your lineups for Eagles-Texans on Thursday night and keep up with @SI_Betting and @SI_Fantasy on Twitter so you don’t miss a thing. Talk to you soon.

Warren Sharp takes you through his Week 8 NFL notes, including the Colts’ interesting QB change and what’s going on with Zach Wilson.

Chicago adds a much-needed piece to their wide receiver group and boost Justin Fields’s fantasy potential.

The NFC North continues to pace the trade deadline as the Chicago Bears acquired Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2023 second-round pick.

Your move, Green Bay.

Chase Claypool will likely continue to be used in a hybrid role in this run-first offense in Chicago. Chicago is tied with the Titans for the fewest pass attempts this season (160), but Claypool should firmly be the No. 2 receiver after Darnell Mooney in this offense, with the possibility of becoming the WR1. That should be an upgrade from his role in Pittsburgh, where he competed with Diontae Johnson and talented rookie George Pickens. Claypool should also boost Justin Fields, who looks more frisky every week, most recently earning a 120 passer rating and completing 73% of his passes on Sunday vs. a tough Dallas defense.  

MORE: Fantasy Impact: Lions Trade T.J. Hockenson to Vikings

Claypool saw 50 targets for 311 yards and a touchdown with the Steelers this year. Those targets were second only to Diontae Johnson, but Claypool was fourth behind Johnson, Pickett and Freiermuth in total receiving yards. 

Darnell Mooney currently leads the Bears with 44 targets and 364 receiving yards. Next in line is Equanimeous St. Brown, with 23 targets and 164 yards. Mooney owners need to hope that Claypool will draw some attention freeing him up to improve his 58.6% catch rate. However, it is entirely possible that with the lack of passing volume, Mooney will become a weekly flex start at best. 

For those who have Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, this move gives them both a bump. For those hopeful for a Cole Kmet breakout year, this is likely the nail in the coffin.   

More fantasy & NFL coverage:

• Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9
• Fantasy Impact: Lions Trade T.J. Hockenson to Vikings
• Week 9 Dynasty Stock Watch: Justin Fields, Jonathan Taylor
• Midseason Fantasy Football Report Card
• Top 10 Midseason Fantasy Takeaways
• Bold Fantasy Predictions for the Second Half
• Welcome Back, D.J. Moore and Alvin Kamara
• Week 9 IDP Waiver Wire
• Week 9 Early Waiver Wire Pickups
• Inside the McCaffrey Trade and His Historic Day Against the Rams

He is currently serving a yearlong suspension from the team for an ‘improper’ relationship within the organization.

The Nets and Steve Nash mutually agreed to part ways just seven games into the 2022–23 season on Tuesday afternoon, leaving a high-profile coaching vacancy in Brooklyn. Though the franchise announced that longtime assistant Jacque Vaughn will serve as the acting head coach against the Bulls on Tuesday night, the Nets are exploring other options, including suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Brooklyn has quietly done “due diligence” on the circumstances that led to Udoka’s yearlong team suspension in Boston. The belief is that Udoka is unlikely to return to the Celtics once his suspension is over and that Boston is willing to let the second-year head coach leave for another job, per Wojnarowski. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports Udoka is a “strong front-runner” for the Nets job, and that the two sides have “begun discussions.”

The Celtics suspended Udoka for having an “improper intimate and consensual relationship” with a woman on the team’s staff, as first reported by Charania in September. Boston was reportedly aware of the relationship in July with the belief that it was consensual, but began investigating further after the staff member said that Udoka made unwanted comments toward her.

Wojnarowski later reported that an independent law firm found Udoka used crude language with a subordinate, which led to an inappropriate workplace relationship. The language was reportedly so troubling that Udoka has a “difficult pathway” to return as the Celtics’ coach, per Wojnarowski. 

Udoka has some familiarity with the Nets, having served as an assistant under Nash during the 2020–21 season. He left the following summer for Boston, where he led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year with the team. 

Nash will depart the Nets after less than three seasons at the helm with a 94–67 regular-season record. Brooklyn never advanced past the conference semifinals during his tenure.

More NBA Coverage:

• Steve Nash, Nets Agree to Part Ways
• The NBA’s Five Most Surprising Lineups
• Here Is the Worst Kyrie Irving Take