The Vancouver Canucks will look to snap a 10-game losing streak with the New York Islanders visiting Rogers Arena on Monday, January 19
My Islanders vs. Canucks predictions and best NHL picks are calling for a high-scoring game tonight in the City of Glass.
Islanders vs Canucks prediction
Islanders vs Canucks best bet: Over 5.5 (-125)
The Vancouver Canucks have closed with a 6.5 total in five consecutive games, and they’ve also allowed four or more goals eight times for 4.5 per during their active 10-game losing streak.
On the flip side, the Canucks have scored the fewest goals per 60 minutes with the lowest team shooting percentage at five-on-five during the skid. A splash of statistical correction to the shooting percentage, paired with the continued poor defensive play, clears the path for this total to go Over the number tonight.
Additionally, there have been at least six goals in seven of the past 10 games for the New York Islanders, and the Isles have averaged 3.1 per night during the stretch.
Islanders vs Canucks same-game parlay
Canucks center Elias Pettersson has recorded two or more shots in eight of 12 games since the holiday break while logging a healthy 18:16 of ice time per game, including 3:23 on the power play.
The Islanders also have a 46.0 Corsi For percentage and 47.8% shot share at 5-on-5 during the noted 10-game run, so this matchup isn’t daunting, and I’m anticipating the Pettersson and the Canucks putting pucks on net tonight.
As a result, New York No. 1 Ilya Sorokin is also positioned to pile up saves, and he’s posted a .942 save percentage with an eye-popping 9.32 goals saved above expected across his past four starts.
The Vancouver Canucks have only covered the Puck Line in 2 of their last 13 games (-15.60 Units / -74% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Islanders vs. Canucks.
How to watch Islanders vs Canucks
Location
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
Date
Monday, January 19, 2026
Puck drop
10:00 p.m. ET
TV
MSGSN2, SNP
Islanders vs Canucks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
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In a recent column for The Fourth Period, NHL insider David Pagnotta mentioned the Chicago Blackhawks as a team that could pursue New York Rangers star forward Vincent Trocheck.
"Vincent Trocheck is also on the radars of multiple clubs, including the Minnesota Wild, and he is someone to keep tabs on this trading season. I would venture a guess that teams like Carolina, Los Angeles, Chicago and Winnipeg may also inquire," Pagnotta wrote.
Seeing the Blackhawks be viewed as a potential suitor for Trocheck is certainly interesting. With Trocheck being an impactful top-six forward with a good amount of experience, there is no question that he would give Chicago's forward group a nice boost if acquired.
With the Blackhawks' playoff chances being low at this point in the season, they should not be in the business of adding rentals at the deadline. However, with Trocheck being signed until the end of the 2028-29 season with a $5.625 million cap hit, he would be a player who helps the Blackhawks for multiple years as they look to become a playoff team.
Yet, as good a player as Trocheck is, it is also important to note that the Blackhawks have multiple promising young centers, both on their NHL roster and in their system. If the Blackhawks want to bring in another top-six forward, a winger may make more sense because of this.
In 35 games this season with the Rangers, Trocheck has posted 11 goals, 18 assists, and 29 points.
This story has been corrected in reaction to a mathematical error caught by user Tim B.
In 2024, Logan Gilbert became one of MLB’s apex predators. He led baseball in innings pitched with 208.2 and finished second in the AL in strikeouts with 220. He was rewarded with a trip to the All-Star game and a sixth place finish in Cy Young voting. His 2025 looked just about as good on paper with his ERA, xERA, and FIP about the same or better. And he even improved his strikeout rate from 27.4% to 32.3%, going from 17th in the league to third.
Yet he wasn’t as valuable to the team.
Why? He pitched about an inning fewer per game, averaging 6.1 innings per start in 2024—workhorse numbers in the modern game—but collapsing to a more pedestrian 5.1 in 2025. A bit of this was managing the injury that caused him to hit the IL for the first time in his career in May. But the pattern actually held both before and after the IL stint (and, to frontload this, so does just about everything else in this article). And he only averaged six fewer pitches per start, which only explains about a third of an inning. Rather, the culprit is that Gilbert needed more pitches per plate appearance in 2025: His P/PA spiked from 3.78 to 4.03.
I know a jump of 0.25 P/PA doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up to the other two-thirds of an inning, or about 22 innings over the course of a season. That’s especially damaging because those are the innings that have to be covered by the soft underbelly of middle relief.
So why was he about as good on a rate basis, but less efficient? I thought I knew the answer, but what I found surprised me.
Suspect #1: The strikeout surge
The most obvious explanation is that 4.9% jump in his strikeout rate. Relatively speaking, that’s 17.9% more strikeouts, which is a lot. Strikeouts naturally take more pitches than PAs that end with balls in play since you need at least three pitches for a strikeout. For Gilbert, in 2024, his average strikeout took 4.92 pitches, and his PAs that ended in balls in play (we’ll call these BIPPAs, because it sounds better than PABIP and doesn’t risk confusion with BABIP) was 3.17. That’s a difference of 1.6 additional pitches for a strikeout.
But here’s the twist: while Gilbert was less efficient overall, he actually got more efficient in his strikeouts, from 4.918 P/K to 4.827 P/K. That’s a confounding factor in using his strikeout surge as the explanation.
The math says the additional strikeouts added 0.087 P/PA, while the better efficiency saved him 0.030 P/PA. Netted out, that’s an increase of +0.057 P/PA caused by the strikeout surge.
So, the new strikeouts explained 23% of Gilbert’s dip in efficiency. That’s sizable, but I’m not prepared to give a guilty verdict here because I’m willing to live with a little less efficiency if it means more strikeouts. I love a Maddux as much as the next guy, but strikeouts are good. The real question is: where are the other three-quarters of the pitches hiding?
Suspect #2: The walk problem
The second obvious culprit is that his walk rate increased from 4.6% to 5.8%. Walks are the worst result for pitch efficiency since they’re a bad result and come at a high pitch cost; a walk costs almost three more P/PA than a BIPPA. The increase in walk rate would be bad on its own, but Gilbert compounded that by using more pitches per walk this year. In 2024, his average walk was 6.0 pitches, which rose to 6.323 pitches in 2025.
The math here says the additional walks accounted for an extra 0.037 P/PA and the fact that his walks were less efficient added another 0.019 P/PA, for a net effect of 0.056 P/PA. That explains 22% more of the overall change. That’s a meaningful contribution, but more of an accomplice than a principal.
Taken together with the strikeouts, we’ve accounted for 45% of the increase in P/PA. But after dealing with the two most obvious suspects, we’ve still got more than half the problem unsolved.
The Red Herrings: What the problem wasn’t
False lead #1: Two-strike struggles. The culprit had to be that Gilbert was struggling to finish guys off. It had to be. The mental image is Gilbert expanding the zone too much with two strikes, getting beat by balls and fouls. Look at his slider location with and without two strikes in 2024 and 2025:
Doesn’t that look like a guy who’s trying to get too cute and chase the chase? As soon as Gilbert’s efficiency started to be a problem last year, I locked in on this. But that led to confirmation bias, as every ball or foul in a two-strike count stood out in my head. I was so sure this was the answer that I signed up for Gilbert’s 40 in 40 with a title in mind (“40 in 40: Logan. Keith. Gilbert. Stop playing with your food, young man”) and assumed I’d bang it out in 45 minutes.
So imagine my surprise when I dug in and learned that Gilbert was actually a bit teensy bit more efficient with two strikes this year, contingent on getting a strikeout. He was only less efficient if the at-bat ended with a walk or a ball in play. That’s not really an issue of playing with his food or it would show up in the strikeout numbers as well. Keep in mind that, after all, his strikeout rate even improved this year.
False lead #2: Worse command. More balls and falling behind more often would explain things. The increase in walk rate even points in this direction. But no. His first-pitch strike rate went up (67.7% to 69.9%); his called strike rate remained flat (15.2%); he was in the zone slightly more(50.9% to 51.3%); and when he went out of the zone, he got more swings on those pitches (chases) (31.6% to 32.3%) and less contact on those swings (44.2% to 40.4%). That’s not a guy with a command problem.
To be sure, he did throw more balls in non-walk PAs (we exclude walks since they always have exactly four balls). But most of them came in his PAs that ended in strikeouts, and we want to strip those out of our analysis here to avoid double-counting since we already looked at P/K. The net effect of the additional balls in BIPPAs is just 0.005 P/PA. That’s not zero, but it’s just 2% of the total spike—more of a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time than a criminal.
The drawing room scene
Having accounted for strikeouts, walks, and balls/BIPPA, there’s really only one place left to look: strikes/BIPPA. (His HBP rate is too small to matter.) To quantify it, Gilbert threw 1.151 strikes/BIPPA in 2024, which spiked to 1.363 in 2025. That’s an 18% jump. Helpfully, this also explains why his walks took more pitches—since walks always take four balls, the additional pitches must be strikes. As we saw when looking at whether he was struggling with the put-away pitch above, Gilbert did see drawn out at-bats when he wasn’t able to get the strikeout.
But what kind of strikes are they? If it’s all called strikes and whiffs, then that’s a problem you’d live with. Those are pure good outcomes. But Gilbert’s called strikes and whiffs per BIPPA only increased by 0.010. Nearly all the additional strikes were coming from foul balls, going from 0.448 fouls/BIPPA in 2024 to 0.650 in 2025.
So at last, we have our culprit: Hitters fouling off 45% more pitches in plate appearances that ended with contact. This single factor explains nearly half of Gilbert’s entire inefficiency spike.
What’s odd is that while there was a 45% increase in BIPPA foul balls overall, only about half of them came before Gilbert got to two strikes. Those aren’t as good as a whiff or a called strike—and they do work to make the at-bat longer since unlike a walk or a strikeout, a BIPPA can happen in an 0-0 count—but it’d still be basically fine. They’re additional strikes that put Gilbert ahead, and the better a count is for a pitcher, the better all his outcomes are, increasing strikeouts, reducing walks, and even softening the contact hitters make when they connect. These pre-two-strike fouls helped explain why more PAs reached two strikes (60% versus 53.4%)—which is a good thing.
But the other half came from two-strike foul balls that extended the at-bat, pure pitch-count killers with no benefit. What makes it odd is that Gilbert’s two-strike efficiency on strikeouts actually improved—he was finishing strikeouts faster than ever. But in the plate appearances that reached two strikes and didn’t end in strikeouts, hitters were fouling off pitch after pitch until they saw something they could put in play. It’s not that he was playing with his food—it’s that he was either on or he wasn’t.
The murder weapon: hitter adjustments?
So we know what happened: hitters fouled off way more pitches in 2025, especially in plate appearances that ended with contact. But why?
I don’t think this was a matter of consistency. While there was more game-to-game variation in his strikeout totals (standard deviation went up by 18%), his overall game scores were actually more consistent (standard deviation went down by 25%).
There’s some evidence that hitters may have adjusted their approach. Gilbert’s overall foul rate jumped from 16.6% to 19.2% of all pitches while league-wide foul rates held steady. Whether this represents a strategic adjustment by opposing hitters—perhaps sitting on certain pitches or protecting the plate more aggressively—or simply Gilbert’s stuff playing differently on different nights is hard to say definitively. His foul rate went up on his fastball, splitter, and curveball. It only went down on his slider, and even then by just a touch; and that’s a natural consequence of his using it in two-strike counts much less since guys will protect more with two strikes.
What’s clear is that in 2025, when Gilbert didn’t have his best command or when hitters were able to spoil his pitches, plate appearances dragged on much longer than they had in 2024.
The aftermath for 2026: How to adjust to the adjustment
The frustrating part is that there’s no obvious fix. Gilbert’s strikeout gains are real and valuable—jumping from 17th to third in the league is elite. His command metrics actually improved. He was more efficient in getting strikeouts. By most measures, he got better in 2025.
And yet: fewer innings, more stress on the bullpen, less overall value to the team.
Can Gilbert find a way to maintain his strikeout gains while reducing the foul-ball problem in 2026? Perhaps. But without a clear explanation for why hitters fouled off so many more pitches, there’s no clear path forward. I’d like to look further at the impact of his splitter becoming his go-to two-strike pitch, and what happened to his slider, which had similar velocity and movement but much worse results.
The price of greatness
But while we figured out how it happened, we still don’t know why. So, until we find answers, we’re left wondering if this is who Gilbert is now: a high-strikeout, low-efficiency pitcher. Maybe that’s okay. Even at 4.03 P/PA, we’re talking about 5-6 innings per start. That’s viable for a modern starter, especially if the Mariners can get more length from George Kirby and Bryce Miller or figure out the middle of their bullpen. But it’s not the workhorse ace of 2024—and it’s hard not to be disappointed by the 2025 version in comparison.
While college football is set to crown its national championship on Monday, Jan. 19 after Indiana's game against Miami, the race for men's college basketball's ultimate prize is heating up about two months before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
In a week, the number of undefeated teams in the sport dwindled from five to three, with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 8 Vanderbilt both suffering two losses. The Cyclones were blown out 84-63 on the road by Kansas before following that up with a 79-70 setback at Cincinnati four days later. The Commodores, meanwhile, lost by 16 on the road against Texas and fell 98-94 at home to reigning national champion Florida.
No. 1 Arizona continued its perfect start to the season, moving to 18-0 with wins against rival Arizona State and at UCF. No. 10 Nebraska, the only other unbeaten team from a power conference, also kept its unblemished record intact, drubbing Oregon and Northwestern by a combined 54 points.
The Vancouver Canucks’ last regulation win came against the New York Islanders on December 19.
That was exactly one month ago.
Yes, the Canucks have yet to register a regulation win since before the holiday break in December. Every single one of their two wins after that have been in overtime. As well, of course, they also have yet to win a game since 2026 started. Throughout all 48 games in the 2025–26 season, Vancouver has only registered 10 regulation wins.
Wins at home have been hard to come by for the Canucks. Wins in regulation at home have been even more elusive. Of their 10 regulation wins this season, only three have taken place at Rogers Arena: Vancouver’s 5–1 home-opener win against the Calgary Flames, their 4–3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 8, and their 4–2 win against the Minnesota Wild on December 6. The Minnesota game in particular is one to note, as this was the last time the Canucks won on home ice.
One thing that has been noticeable about Vancouver’s regulation winning pattern is the manner in which they do-so. Four of their 10 regulation wins have been separated by only one goal, while only four of these have ended with scores separated by more than two goals. Two of these regulation wins nearly resulted in blown multi-goal leads, as Vancouver nearly gave up a 4–0 lead against the Washington Capitals and allowed the Anaheim Ducks to erase a 3–1 deficit.
To get their first win of 2026, the Canucks will need to do the simplest thing in the book — score goals. It may sound like an overly-simplified solution, but it’s true. Throughout Vancouver’s 10 regulation wins on the season, they’ve put together an average goals-for of 4.2 — miles above their season average of 2.54. In all but two of their regulation wins, the Canucks have scored 4+ goals, with their highest being six in their 6–2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 16. Outside of regulation, Vancouver has only scored five or more goals twice — in a 5–4 win against the Nashville Predators in overtime and an 8–5 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Jan 3, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Linus Karlsson (94) and forward Evander Kane (91) and defenseman Zeev Buium (24) and forward Drew O'Connor (18) celebrate a goal scored by defenseman Filip Hronek (17) against the Boston Bruins in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Pro-rebuild fans have likely been content with the Canucks’ progress throughout the past couple of weeks, as they’ve successfully played themselves far into 32nd in the NHL with 37 points. With that being said, the lack of pushback from the team itself in games such as their 6–0 drumming against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday is concerning. Regardless of where things are heading, losing in a manner like that doesn’t quite instill hope in a fanbase that has its eyes set on the future. While this season is more than likely lost for the Canucks, it’s not like they can avoid winning forever.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Fans from around the globe cast their ballots, picking who should start in the NBA All-Star Game next month in Los Angeles. Those fan votes (50% of the total) — combined with votes from NBA players (25%) and select media (25%) — have chosen the 10 All-Star Game starters. There are five starters from the Eastern Conference and five from the West (even though those players will later be divided into two USA and one World team for the new format, more on that below).
Those All-Star Game starters will be unveiled today on NBC, read by the NBA Showtime crew live on set at 2 p.m. Eastern. This will be right before the tip-off of the Oklahoma City at Cleveland game, part of a quadruple header of Martin Luther King Day games on NBC and Peacock.
Refresh this page, where we will have all the details on who the starters will be, as well as analysis of those selections.
Who picks All-Star Game reserves?
Now that the fans have had their say, it falls to the coaches around the league.
NBA coaches will vote to choose the seven reserve (or bench) players from each conference. The results of the vote and the names of the remaining NBA All-Stars will be announced next week on NBC.
Those starters and reserves will then be divided up into three teams as part of a new USA vs. World All-Star Game format. Two international players, Luka Doncic in the West and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East, were the top vote-getters among fans.
All-Star Game format
While the idea of a USA vs. international players All-Star Game format has been talked about for years, 2026 felt like the right time.
That's because the NBA All-Star Game returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock in the middle of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. That was a perfect setup for the first-of-its-kind All-Star Game format.
The 24 All-Star players will be divided into three teams — two USA teams and one world team — that will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games. Each of the three teams will have a minimum of eight players (if the USA or World teams are short on players, the league office will select one or more players to reach the required number).
At the end of the round-robin, the two top teams will play a championship game (the fourth 12-minute game of the day) for the title.
All-Star weekend tips off on Feb. 13 with the Rising Stars at the Intuit Dome at 6 p.m. PT, featuring the league's top first- and second-year players. Also on the 13th is the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, featuring stars from media, sports and entertainment at the Kia Forum. The Forum also hosts the fifth annual NBA HBCU Classic at 8 p.m. that night.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, All-Star Saturday night — featuring the Skills Challenge, 3-point Contest and the Dunk Contest — will take place at the Intuit Dome.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. Eastern, earlier than in previous years, leading into more coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are less than a month away from reporting to Bradenton to get ready for the upcoming 2026 season.
The team looks a little different than it did a year ago, but some changes are still to be made. ESPN contributor Jesse Rogers wrote about what the Pirates have done this off-season and what still needs to be accomplished.
“Pittsburgh set out to improve its offense, and the Pirates have done that via trades and the free agent signing of O’Hearn. It doesn’t mean they’ll be a juggernaut at the plate, but they’ll be better than last season. That’s a start. Lowe and O’Hearn also bring experience playing for playoff-caliber teams, a much-needed benefit for the Pirates,” Rogers wrote.
The Pirates had one of the league’s worst offenses this past season, so their moves so far haven’t been a surprise. However, there is still room for improvement on that front.
“The Pirates aren’t done looking for offense, which could come in the form of an outfield bat or an addition to the left side of the infield. Or both. And after trading from their pitching depth, moving Johan Oviedo and Mike Burrows in separate deals, they would like to refill that part of their roster, too,” Rogers wrote.
“It’s already been a more active offseason for the Pirates than they’ve had in recent memory as they try to build around ace Paul Skenes. Smaller moves might be in order between now and spring training, but Pittsburgh shouldn’t be done adding.”
The Pirates could make another free agency splash by signing someone like Cody Bellinger, or they could ride out their group to see what they have. The offense should be better in 2026, but it remains to be seen how much improvement will be made and if it will be enough to knock on the door in the wild card race in the National League.
BD community, what are your thoughts on this offseason’s moves? Chime off in the comments section below.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies will be a game-time decision on Monday night as the club hosts the Minnesota Wild inside Scotiabank Arena.
The 23-year-old has been dealing with an undisclosed injury for "quite some time," said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube on Monday after Toronto's morning skate, which Knies missed.
Berube added that Knies has been dealing with the same ailment since before Christmas.
"It's obviously bothering him a lot for quite some time," added Toronto's head coach. "It hasn't gotten really much better, other than when he gets some breaks, you know, Christmas time and stuff. He comes back, it feels better, but it's an ongoing issue."
Knies has missed three games this season, all in mid-November: Nov. 18 vs. St. Louis, Nov. 20 vs. Columbus, and Nov. 22 vs. Montreal. Through 45 games this season, Knies has 12 goals and 40 points, ranking fourth among the Maple Leafs.
Scott Laughton held Knies' spot on the Maple Leafs' second line at the skate, alongside John Tavares and Matias Maccelli. Laughton's shift to a larger role in the lineup suggests that Knies is less likely to play against the Wild.
Berube has been impressed with Laughton's game as of late, thus promoting him to a higher spot in the lineup. Toronto's head coach added, however, that if Laughton doesn't work there, he won't hesitate to switch things around again.
"(Laughton's) been in those situations before, played wing, played up with a more top-six role," Berube said. "He's played some real good hockey for us, so he has an opportunity to go up there, but I can move other guys in and out too, so we'll see him move around if that's the case."
Laughton has two goals in his last six games with Toronto. He also has a team-leading 59.8 win percentage in the face-off dot this season, and ranks fifth in the NHL (among players who've taken 300 or more face-offs).
With Laughton moving up, Jacob Quillan, who was called up ahead of Toronto's morning skate on Monday, will center the fourth line, between Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok.
The 23-year-old has played three NHL games this season (four in total), but has been strong in the AHL, scoring eight goals and 27 points in 28 games. Quillan most recently scored a hat-trick and an assist in the Toronto Marlies' 6-1 win over the Belleville Senators on Jan. 9.
This will be Toronto's first game against the Wild this season. Joseph Woll is expected to start for the Maple Leafs. Oh, and don't forget: the start time will be half-an-hour later than normal (7:30 ET) as the game airs on Prime Monday Night Hockey.
There are bad teams in the NBA that can spring a surprise at any moment, and the Utah Jazz did upset the San Antonio Spurs less than a month ago.
That said, my Jazz vs. Spurs predictions do not expect that jolt to be sprung twice. Find out why my NBA picks are calling for a first-half statement by San Antonio on Monday, January 19.
Jazz vs Spurs prediction
Jazz vs Spurs best bet: Under 117.5 1H (-115)
Afternoon games often lead to slow starts, with NBA players far more used to their routine than the general public may realize.
This game tips off at 3:00 p.m. on the Utah Jazz players' body clocks. That may seem anecdotal, but combine that reality with the San Antonio Spurs' Under tendencies — cashing eight straight Unders before Saturday's shootout between Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards — and the sluggish start becomes that much more likely.
The stats broadly agree with this thought, too. Utah ranks No. 23 in offensive rating in the last 10 games, while San Antonio ranks No. 4 in defensive rating in that same stretch.
The Spurs should control this game in a rout until it eases to the final whistle.
Jazz vs Spurs same-game parlay
Utah is evading notice thus far, enjoying only the seventh-worst record in the NBA, but the Jazz are very much tanking. They have gone 0-5 against the spread in their last five first halves, somehow losing a first quarter to Charlotte, 45-14.
This all may lead to a blowout, but Stephon Castle should clear his assist prop early. Ball movement is ripe against Utah.
Jazz vs Spurs SGP
Under 117.5 1H
Spurs -10 1H
Stephon Castle Over 7.5 assists
Our "from downtown" SGP: Wemby gets some rest
Doubting Wembanyama to score aplenty today is very much a doubt that the French star will need to play much in the fourth quarter, if at all.
Jazz vs Spurs SGP
Under 117.5 1H
Spurs -10 1H
Stephon Castle Over 7.5 assists
Victor Wembanyama Under 25.5 points
Jazz vs Spurs odds
Spread: Jazz +16.5 | Spurs -16.5
Moneyline: Jazz +700 | Spurs -1100
Over/Under: Over 241 | Under 241
Jazz vs Spurs betting trend to know
Before Saturday’s shootout against Anthony Edwards, the previous eight Spurs games had all gone Under their totals and by an average of 19.9 points per game. Find more NBA betting trends for Jazz vs. Spurs.
How to watch Jazz vs Spurs
Location
Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Date
Monday, January 19, 2026
Tip-off
5:00 p.m. ET
TV
FDSN-Southwest, KJZZ
Jazz vs Spurs latest injuries
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
Arizona managed to avoid the upset bug for another week. Thus the still-undefeated Wildcats remain at No. 1 for a second consecutive poll, this time claiming all 31 first-place votes. Last week’s second-ranked team wasn’t as fortunate, as Iowa State tumbles all the way to No. 9 after dropping a pair of road games in the Big 12.
New No. 2 Michigan leads a succession of teams moving up a notch as a result of the Cyclones’ fall. Connecticut, Purdue and Duke round out the top five, followed by Houston, Nebraska and Gonzaga. The Cornhuskers, now at No. 7 and one of only three remaining teams yet to lose, continues to establish new all-time high rankings for the program. Michigan State is back in the top 10, followed by No. 11 Illinois and No. 12 Texas Tech, as those three each move up two positions.
Vanderbilt is another team falling back after slipping six spots to No. 14.
North Carolina went 0-2 in the Bay Area last week but hangs on to a spot in the poll at No. 24, down nine places. Making its season debut in the poll is No. 23 Saint Louis, the first top-25 appearance for the Billikens since January of 2021. No. 25 St. John’s also rejoins the rankings, as Utah State and Iowa drop out.
Bo Bichette has been a Blue Jay since we drafted him in the second round of the 2016 draft, so ten years now, seven of them with the major league team.
He was a top prospect, reaching number eight on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list. In 2017 he was number on nine our top 40 list (mistakes were made, TJ Zeuch and Conner Greene were in the two spots ahead of him), moving up to number two in 2018 (you can guess who was number one).
In 2018 I wrote:
Bo’s second pro season went as well as his first. He hit .362/.423/.564 splitting time between Lansing and Dunedin with 14 home runs.
Bo is on everyone’s list of Top 100 MLB prospects, 8th on Baseball America’s, 14th on MLB’s and 19th on Baseball Prospectus.
About the only question is can he stay at short. Some think he’ll have to move to second, but if he continues to hit as well as he has, we’ll be ok with a little less than terrific range. He has been working at his defense. It might come down to which position is open when it is time to call him up.
He was called up at the end of July in 2019, and started his MLB career with an 11 game hitting streak and finished the season with a .311/.358/.571 line with 11 home runs in 46 games. 2021 was COVID shortened, but he hit .301/.328/.512 in 29 games, and the Jays made it to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
In 2021, he finally got to play a full season, and he showed us what he could do, leading the league in hits with 191, slugging 29 home runs and made the All-Star team for the first time
And he would do, pretty much, the same for the just of his time with the Jays (excepting the 2024 season), putting up OPS numbers in the lower .800s. Being at or near the top of the league in hits, getting his 20ish home runs a year.
It was strange, he was consistently about the same in OPS, but he would get there in different ways, sometimes he would start out slow and save his season in the last month. Sometimes he would start hot and slump near the end, finishing in that same area. Last year, he had a .738 OPS at the end of June, but then had a terrific second half, getting it up to .840 before the injury that ended his regular season.
2024 was the outlier, he had a .225/.277/.322 after 81 games. I was sure he’d have a terrific second half to bring his numbers back to his career norms, but then an injury took away his chance.
In a way, it is too bad that he came up at the same time as Vlad. Vlad has charisma, an obvious sense of humour, and a sense of fun. Bo didn’t always show those things, or at least not to the point where they weren’t overshadowed by Vlad.
Bo seemed more guarded, I guess more business-like. He didn’t have the interview answers with Hazel that made you smile or made you like him more. Maybe if Vlad wasn’t so…..Vlad like we’d feel more connected to Bo.
But then Bo seemed great with his teammates. He always seemed to be chatting with someone on the bench and there were moments when he’d allow himself a little smile or something that showed us there was a personality in there.
If they had come up together 40 years ago (well, maybe 60 years ago), everyone would say that Bo was serious about the game, that he was a student of the game and was always looking to get better, and Vlad would be written off (at least a bit) for being a clown, for not being serious about the game.
I put in ‘Bo Bichette personality’ in Google and the AI summery said
…a mix of fiery competitiveness, perfectionism, infectious energy, and surprising sincerity, known for his aggressive play style, leadership by example (always early, working hard), and growing willingness to discuss mental health, contrasting a seemingly carefree exterior with a deep internal drive for success. He’s charismatic, connects with fans, and leads with an intense desire to win, viewing baseball as a mental battle, yet remains grounded and focused on his craft.
That seems very fair. Everything seems ‘on field’ with him. You don’t see Bichette commercials between innings. When there is an interview with him, he keeps it focused on baseball, there is very little personal stuff involved.
Among the bullet points:
Authentic & Vulnerable (Increasingly): He’s opening up about the pressures of the game, viewing it as true strength, a shift from stoicism.
He did talk about the pressures, some last year, when he was struggling.
I think the Mets were smart to offer a shorter-term contract (though $42 million a year seems a lot of money). I’ve often thought he was unlikely to age well, since he doesn’t control the strike zone, but then he is smart and driven, perhaps he’ll figure out how to continue to be great as his reflexes slow a bit.
I’m not sure that third base is the right spot for him. I think he’d be much better at second base, but again, he’s a hard worker and smart, so he’ll figure out how to play it to the best of his abilities.
As much as I have worries that he won’t age well, I’m sorry to see him go. I’m not tired of watching him play. I’d like to see how he deals with playing into his 30s. See if he can remake himself. See if he can gain some control over the strike zone. And I’d like to watch him learn a new position.
I’m not too worried about the loss of his leadership skills. We seem to have a number of good leaders on the team. And I think we’ll be ok with the loss of his bat. But we’ve been following him up close for seven seasons (and following his rise through the minors before that). I’m going to miss watching him play (as much as I’m not going to miss Buck praising his two-strike approach when the stats don’t show that he is great with two strikes).
Best of luck with the Mets, Bo. Thanks for all the great memories. Thanks, especially, for the home run in the World Series.
William Nylander will miss yet another game when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Minnesota Wild on Monday. Although there isn't a clear timeline for the Swedish superstar to return, the issue is severe enough that the player hasn't been able to take the ice.
"I don't know how long the timeline will be for him," Berube said. "When he feels good enough to get on the ice and he goes out there and skates and it feels good, then I expect him to be back fairly quick then. But until then, I'm not sure when he's going to be on the ice."
When Nylander initially suffered the injury, the forward was often on the ice before his teammates, working through the ailment. Given that isn't happening this time, it suggests the ailment could either be worse than before or that the club is being cautious to make sure this doesn't become a lingering problem.
Naturally, this issue raises questions regarding whether Nylander will be healthy enough to compete for Sweden at the Olympics in early February. Granted, the tournament is weeks away; however, does it make sense for him to push it and risk further injury? We're not there yet, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on as the Leafs deal with a grueling schedule ahead of the best-on-best tournament.
The Leafs have had little practice time given the condensed schedule. However, if Nylander heals in time, it sounds like the coaching staff would be willing to play him immediately. "If Willy comes to me and says he's reason to go, and he hasn't practiced for a few days, I'm going to say, 'well, that's okay.' He can go play. I mean, it depends on the situation," Berube explained.
Nylander's absence leaves a significant hole in the lineup. He logged only 2:17 of ice time against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday before leaving the game with the injury. Berube didn't confirm when the injury took place, but you could see Nylander's skate buckle as he celebrated his goal.
Even in that short time, Nylander scored a goal and added an assist. In 31 games this season, he has recorded 17 goals and 31 assists, serving as a vital part of the club's offense.
It’s the dream of all baseball players to have a singular, meteoric rise from the moment they turn professional until their on top of the baseball world. It’s surely the dream of the teams that select them, too.
More often than not, it’s a rockier road, and certainly not a linear one. That’s been the case with Cam Collier so far in his still nascent professional career, though through the right lens even some of his bumps in the road still come out looking pretty optimistic.
Take, for instance, his 2025 season. He busted his thumb in spring camp, and it set him back for months. He began the year back in Arizona playing in Rookie Ball to get reps, not starting a game there until May 19th. He eventually returned to High-A Dayton the first week of June and didn’t sock his first homer there until June 14th, after which he’d go all the way until August 26th before hitting another.
All that from the guy whose 20 homers with Dayton the previous season led the entire Midwest League.
Clearly, the thumb issue impacted his swing, his bat speed, his overall power. Yet as Collier advanced up to AA Chattanooga in the Southern League, he still found a way to post a .377 OBP that tied for 11th best in the league with two others, one of whom being top Reds prospect Sal Stewart (who obviously moved right on up after doing that). This, all in Collier’s age-2o season.
So, we’ve got a guy who has a) shown enough in-game power to lead a league in homers, b) overcome a serious injury mid-season to get back on the field, and c) shown burgeoning excellence in commanding the strike zone and getting on-base, all while being one of the youngest guys at each level.
Yeah, he might be just a 1B-only guy defensively, but that’s the makings of an offense powerhouse of a prospect, one who is surely aching to put it all on display in a healthy 2026 season that should see him rise to AAA Louisville. And as we all know, if you’re at AAA Louisville, you’re just a sniff away from being a big leaguer, something he’s very much on the cusp of becoming despite a big speed-bump in 2025.
(Man, look at that potential 1B/DH logjam the Reds have looming…)
Collier’s your #6 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, running away with the voting over the weekend over a talented field. If I were a gamblin’ man, I’d wager that Cam’s about to have the kind of breakout 2026 that shoots him right back in Top 100 overall prospect conversations, as that bat is simply going to continue to play.
In a series of events that developed fast enough to give fans whiplash, the Mets went from missing on Kyle Tucker to inking Bo Bichette less than 24 hours later. The 27-year-old shortstop spurned a long-term deal from the Phillies to sign an extremely player-friendly deal in New York; three years, $126 million, and—most critically—opt-outs after both year one and year two.
You’re no doubt familiar with Bichette, if for nothing other than his nearly-series-defining home run in last year’s World Series. Outside of that moment, he’s been one of the better shortstops in baseball since debuting in 2019, posting a cumulative 120 wRC+ and cresting 3.8 fWAR in all but one season. The one outlier—2024—was an injury plagued year in which Bichette struggled with a calf injury. He’s a good player, at times bordering on a great one, and you usually want to add that kind of guy when you can.
At the same time, Bichette’s profile is not typical. Ten years ago, we’d have looked at the top of the scale swing rates and ~10th percentile chase rates and flatly said that Bichette’s approach is problematic. Now we can recognize that he does a good enough job of swinging at the pitches he can damage such that his overall approach is broadly fine (as measured by SEAGER). Similarly, we might’ve assumed his high BABIP was unsustainable, and his offense as a result was fake. Now we have batted ball data that largely backs up his outlier ability to find open grass.
Even with that better understanding, you can see the warts. It’d be better if Bichette swung and chased less. It’d be better if he pulled the ball in the air more than 6.8% of the time. It’s also great that he’s a young free agent, but his exit velocities have already begun to decline, both in terms of max EV and 90th percentile. The recent history of lower body injuries—the aforementioned calf problems and a wonky knee injury last season—are concerning as well. We’ve also not mentioned the defense, which has gone from bad at shortstop to unplayable. Not a direct problem for the Mets of course, but something that should be noted.
Perhaps you’re more optimistic about the above, which is valid. The roster fit, however, is undeniably odd. Prior to this move, the Mets had a solid starting infield—Baty, Lindor, Semien, Polanco left to right—and an obvious hole in the outfield. Now, Bichette is slated to play a position he’s never played before (he’ll probably be fine there) while Baty has been bumped into a super utility role. It’s an odd allocation of resources, one that diminishes the net impact of the move.
The cost here could be described as anything from “high” to “astronomical.” We already mentioned the contract terms, but here’s what that actually translates to:
$42 million in direct salary for 2026
$30-35 million in CBT penalties
2nd and 5th highest selections in the 2026 draft, worth something like $1.5-2 million in pool space
$1 million in IFA
On top of that, the opt-out structure gives the Mets all the downside and none of the upside. If Bichette has a good season, demonstrating that his knee is healthy and he can play another position well, he opts out for a bigger deal as a 28-year-old free agent with no QO attached. If the injuries linger or if the defensive decline is not ameliorated by the move down the spectrum, the Mets are left holding the bag.
Our view on this move might change when we get to the end of the offseason and consider the totality of moves. Maybe Baty gets traded for a big-name player (Jarren Duran, Tarik Skubal, and Cole Ragans are some options). Maybe another starter and/or outfielder gets added and Baty becomes a valuable super-utility guy in the mold of Jeff McNeil. Right now, though, this looks like a very expensive move that doesn’t align at all with the roster’s needs.
We’d also be remiss if we didn’t discuss the narrative surrounding this deal. It sure seemed like the Mets were confident that they were going to get Kyle Tucker, or at least Steve Cohen’s tweet suggested that. Objectively, declining to give Tucker the highest AAV ever is a fine baseball decision; subjectively, acting like you’ve got a player in the bag and then coming up second (not the first time this has happened, either) makes you something of a laughing stock, particularly when you’re loud about it.
It’s dangerous to assume that we know more than a front office that is regarded as one of the more forward thinking in baseball. Nevertheless, even with a healthy amount of self-doubt and a good deal of squinting, this looks like a move that is imperfect at best and panicky at worst. The Bichette signing receives a C-.
Spring training is fast approaching, and the Boston Red Sox’ roster remains filled with question marks.
The way the roster is currently constructed suggests that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will make another trade or two before Opening Day. The Red Sox boast admirable pitching depth, but their lineup leaves plenty to be desired after losing Alex Bregman in free agency. They also must find a solution to their outfield logjam and add at least one reliable left-handed reliever to their bullpen.
We should expect multiple moves to be made before pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers on Feb. 10, but here’s what the 26-man roster looks like with about three weeks until spring training begins:
Starting rotation
Garrett Crochet, LHP
Ranger Suarez, LHP
Sonny Gray, RHP
Brayan Bello, RHP
Johan Oviedo, RHP
Starting pitching is the Red Sox’ strength. In fact, Boston could have the best rotation in baseball for 2026.
Brayan Bello slots in as the No. 4 starter after his best big-league season yet. After him, it will be a battle for the No. 5 spot with several depth options at Boston’s disposal.
For now, we have Johan Oviedo (acquired from Pittsburgh Pirates) as the frontrunner for the role, but he’ll compete with Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, and Kyle Harrison in spring training. There’s a strong possibility that the Red Sox take advantage of their pitching depth to make another trade to improve their lineup before Opening Day.
Bullpen
Aroldis Chapman, LHP
Garrett Whitlock, RHP
Jordan Hicks, RHP
Justin Slaten, RHP
Jovani Moran, LHP
Greg Weissert, RHP
Zack Kelly, RHP
It’s looking like it’ll be the same group — minus southpaws Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, and trade deadline addition Steven Matz — in Boston’s bullpen next season. Without that trio, left-handed relief is among the glaring weaknesses on this roster.
Moran can’t be relied on to be the go-to lefty outside of Chapman. Perhaps top prospects Payton Tolle and/or Connelly Early can assume bullpen roles until spots open in the starting rotation, but it seems more likely they’ll begin the campaign in Triple-A if one doesn’t earn the No. 5 starter role.
Lineup
Roman Anthony, LF
Trevor Story, SS
Jarren Duran, DH
Willson Contreras, 1B
Wilyer Abreu, RF
Carlos Narvaez, C
Marcelo Mayer, 3B
Romy Gonzalez, 2B
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
Willson Contreras was a nice upgrade at first base, but the Red Sox should still look to add at least one more bat before Opening Day. Losing Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs in free agency completely changes the look of the lineup and puts pressure on oft-injured shortstop Trevor Story to replicate his 2025 performance. Marcelo Mayer proved to be an outstanding defensive third baseman while filling in for Bregman last year, but his struggles against left-handed pitching and ongoing injury concerns are worrisome.
Then there’s the second base situation. Romy Gonzalez is a platoon bat, while David Hamilton provides next to zero offensive value besides his speed. Ceddanne Rafaela could move to second, and that would solve the outfield logjam, but then Boston would lose his elite defense in center field. Trading Duran or Abreu earlier in the offseason would’ve solved the problem, but with Bregman gone, the Red Sox can’t afford to part ways with either bat.
Bench
Masataka Yoshida, DH/OF
Connor Wong, C
Nick Sogard, UTIL
Nate Eaton, 3B/OF
David Hamilton, 2B/SS
The outfield logjam forces Duran into the DH spot and leaves Yoshida without an everyday role for the second straight season. Other than that, it’s a pretty straightforward bench with Wong as the backup catcher, Sogard and Eaton as versatile defenders, and Hamilton as the fill-in middle infielder who can pinch run.
