Franz Wagner is not expected to play on Wednesday night when his Orlando Magic have the chance to close out the Detroit Pistons in their first-round series.
Officially (as of this writing), Wagner is still listed as "questionable" with a right calf strain. However, signs point to him missing the game. For one, he attended but did not participate in the team's morning shootaround, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Also, Paolo Banchero told reporters the team was preparing as if Wagner would ot play, reports Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
Wagner underwent an MRI after leaving Game 4 of the series in the fourth quarter and has been diagnosed with a calf strain. Orlando didn't miss a beat in that game thanks to the play of Jamal Cain off the bench, but big-picture, the Magic need Wagner.
So far this series, Wagner is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, shootin 33.3% from 3-point range. He had 19 points in Game 4 before having to leave.
No. 8 seed Orlando is up 3-1 on No. 1 seed Detroit and is looking to make history, with three chances to close out the series. Their first chance is Wednesday night in Detroit, where the Pistons likely will come out playing with urgency and desperation.
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 5: Ousmane Dieng #21 and Kyle Kuzma #18 of the Milwaukee Bucks high five during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 5, 2026 at Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images). | NBAE via Getty Images
We continue our pop quiz series with the Bucks’ non-Giannis forward corps. Only one of these guys played a full season with the Bucks, but all arguably exceeded expectations given how low those were due to prior underperformance or injury. Let’s first review their years before the questions.
After three-plus years buried on the Thunder’s bench, expectations weren’t exactly high for the former 11th overall pick (drafted a spot ahead of Jalen Williams!), but there was initial interest surrounding Dieng among fans. Was he not playing because he was too young? Or because he wasn’t very good? OKC had plenty of better wings during his time there, and it’s not as if they were that much older than him at 20–21 years old. So skepticism existed alongside the intrigue.
That quickly turned into real optimism after his first two games in Milwaukee’s rotation, when he combined for 36 points, 14 boards, six assists, and four blocks while shooting nearly 60% from the field (8/14) from deep against the Magic and his former team. From there, he was a regular fixture down the stretch, and though his production wasn’t like that every night, he was in double figures more often than not. Pretty dependable 12/5/5 guy from March onward too. He even set a new career-high with 36 points (plus 10 dimes) against Houston on April Fool’s Day. All in all, someone with the makings of a productive rotation player, a floor he may have already reached. The ceiling may not be all that high, but definitely a great start to his time as Buck.
Now for someone who didn’t have a great start to his Bucks tenure. Before the season, there was probably no Buck that fans were lower on than Kuz, thanks to an absolute dud of a series against the Pacers. But he put together a year reminiscent of his Laker years, when he also wasn’t a primary scoring option, unlike when he was a Wizard. Giannis’ injuries thrust him into a starting role more often than was probably hoped, but he had some very nice evenings when filling in (26 against Dallas and Charlotte in November, 31 against Boston in December, 31 against Chicago in February, 33 against Phoenix in March) for Antetokounmpo. Nothing sticks out positively or negatively for Kuzma this year, which is probably all you can ask for at this point in his career.
TP also had a terrible series last spring, so not everyone was keen on his return for another go-around. But Milwaukee was starved for wing talent to begin the year, and he was off to a solid start as they won five of their first seven games, shooting the ball excellently. Unfortunately, he went down with a neck injury and required surgery, keeping him out for over four months. The Bucks even applied—and reportedly received—a disabled player exception for him, which was ultimately unused since he was able to return to the floor on March 10. From then on, he was his usual self, shooting the ball very well with decent defense. He even scored in double digits each of the Bucks’ final six contests while receiving starter’s minutes. Moreover, it was just good to see Prince back on the court after a procedure that hampered a few other guys’ careers significantly.
Tantalising totals
(1) Before Dieng’s career-best 36 in Houston, how many times in his career did he ever score over 20?
Click to reveal answer
Twice: 22 as a rookie and 21 against the Bucks last season.
(2) Believe it or not, but Kuzma established a new career-high this season in which major category, obliterating his previous best?
Click to reveal answer
Field goal percentage at 49.2%, surpassing his 46.3% from 2023–24.
(3) True or false: Prince had more double-doubles in 2024–25 than 2025–26.
Click to reveal answer
False, he had just one last season and two this season.
Atypically advanced
(1) When Kuzma was on the floor, did the Bucks’ assist percentage rise or fall?
Click to reveal answer
It rose, though only from 62.4% to 64.3%.
(2) Did Prince have a better net rating last year or this year?
Click to reveal answer
This year: the Bucks were four points per 100 possessions better when he played this year, and last year they were 6.9 points per 100 worse when he was on the floor as compared to off.
Obscure optics
(1) When Dieng started, did his three-point percentage increase or decrease relative to when he came off the bench, and by how much?
Click to reveal answer
As a starter: 29.5% As a reserve: 41.5% Nearly 12%!
How did you fare? Share your score in the comments, and don’t forget to drop your thoughts along with it—which stat stands out?
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attends a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration held the roundtable titled "Saving College Sports" with leaders from the Power Four conferences, media executives and former coaches. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Adam Silver heard the outcry over tanking ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft and was determined to find a solution. The league has now settled on its preferred system of lottery reform, and it essentially reduces the distribution of top young talent entering the league to complete randomness.
The three worst teams in the league are in the “relegation zone,” which means they lose ping-pong balls.
Teams that finish 4th through 10th in the reverse standings get three lottery balls in the drawing.
Teams in the “relegation zone” get two lottery balls, and can’t fall further than the 12th pick
“The Nos. 9 and 10 play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each.”
The lottery is expanded from 14 to 16 teams.
Under the current system, lottery balls are only drawn for the top-4 picks. Now, the first 16 spots in the draft will be up for grabs in the drawing.
Teams can’t land the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years, and they can’t pick in the top-5 three times in a row.
Got all that? Probably not, because it’s pretty complicated. When Adam Silver was weighing multiple options to reform the NBA Draft lottery last month, I wrote “in rushing to find a medicine to cure tanking, the NBA risks giving itself bigger problems from the side effects.” While this system likely will curb tanking to some extent, it opens up a ton of new problems for the league.
It’s pretty wild that Silver rushed this system through so hastily with it slated to take effect for the 2027 NBA Draft. Teams already made long-term roster decisions based on the incentives of the old rules. The Chicago Bulls traded Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White at the deadline after years of floundering in mediocrity to increase their chances at finding a star. This system rewards mediocrity. It would have been nice if Chicago actually knew the rules before making its February deals. The Memphis Grizzlies traded away Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane because they felt like they couldn’t get out of the middle of the Western Conference standings. Would Memphis had made the same decisions if they knew the lottery format would change like this?
It’s no surprise the league is giving itself the option to opt out of this plan after the 2029 NBA Draft, per Charania’s report. This lottery format feels like an extremely slippery slope for a few reasons. Let’s get into it.
The new lottery system kills hope for diehard fans of bad teams
Teams had the ability to go from worst-to-first under the current lottery system despite the fact that the worst team in the league literally never won the lottery since the last round of reform went into effect in 2019. The Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves all made the worst-to-first jump in the 2020s.
Those are all small market teams who used the draft to land their franchise player. They still had to get lucky to land the top pick. It’s just going to require way more luck for bad teams to get good under this system.
The risk of this system is that it creates a permanent NBA underclass. Now the worst team in the league can fall to the 12th pick. Given how rarely good players change hands in free agency these days (more on that later), it feels like bad teams could get stuck in a cycle of being bad for a long, long time.
If teams can’t sell wins, they need to sell hope. What hope would fans of bad teams have now knowing they could fall out of the top-10 in the draft? The risk here is that diehard fans of bad teams just choose to give up because there’s no path forward.
Lottery reform feels like it should be coupled with free agency changes
How are bad teams supposed to get good players if they can’t do it through the draft? Free agency and trades are the only other options, but the prospect of bad teams overpaying free agents to land them only offers more downside, especially in this more punitive CBA.
It feels like the league needs more good young players to hit free agency if it doesn’t want teams to tank for the draft. One idea I saw elsewhere that I liked was eliminating restricted free agency. Under the current system, the Pistons still have the ability to match any contract offer to Jalen Duren even after failing to reach an extension with him. What if Duren was just an unrestricted free agent this year, and could be had for any team?
Something like that would open up more avenues for talent acquisition outside of the draft. For now, it feels like bad teams that don’t get lottery luck are simply screwed.
The NBA already killed free agency. Will these changes kill trades, too?
Silver heard the outcry over Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors, and essentially made rule changes that kept superstars away from free agency. The last true superstar to change teams in free agency was Kawhi Leonard signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. Since then, the biggest player to change teams in free agency is … washed Paul George in 2024?
The NBA gets a lot of attention from offseason player movement. I wonder if these changes will make teams more reluctant to trade their future first-round picks, thus diminishing the trade market, too.
First-round picks are the currency of trades. A team that was around .500 was more incentivized to trade a future first because it had a lower probability of turning into a premium pick. Now that’s been flipped on its head.
This is all pretty speculative for now, but it’s something to monitor. This new lottery system will have unintended consequences, and it would be a net-loss for the NBA if it resulted in fewer trades.
Tanking will still happen under these lottery rules, just in different ways
This lottery system should curb tanking, but it won’t eliminate it entirely. If the goal of these changes is to preserve the sanctity of March and April games, I’m not sure that’s going to happen.
Let’s say a team enters the All-Star break in 10th place in their conference. They might not want to risk losing a ping pong ball by making the 7/8 play-in game, so they will still rest players as long as they have a big enough cushion not to finish in the bottom-3. The sweet spot in this reform is the 4-10 range. Given how often injuries play a factor in team performance — and given how many significant injuries there are in the modern game — it feels likely a team can still rest players/try to lose on purpose from an organizational perspective and still enter the lottery sitting pretty.
Tanking was never the NBA’s biggest problem anyway
Adam Silver is a reactionary. He reads online criticism, and he acts quickly. My complaint with rushing through this tanking reform is that fans of teams that are tanking aren’t the ones doing the complaining. It’s usually coming from football fans after the Super Bowl who will just find another way to criticize the NBA even if tanking was solved.
The NBA’s biggest issue is that the regular season lacks anything resembling meaningful stakes. Silver thinks that these lottery reforms will fix that problem, but I’m extremely dubious. If the NBA wants to give the regular season more stakes, it needs to reduce the number of games. Play every team twice and call it a season. Once the NBA adds its two expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, that would create a 62-game schedule. It gives the players more rest in between games, and cancels a lot of the end of season games where tanking tomfoolery is happening.
The point of the draft is to give the worst teams the best young players. The NBA apparently doesn’t see it that way, and they’re instead leaving it all up to chance.
On my first spin, the Miami Heat drew the No. 1 pick and the Washington Wizards fell to 12th. Is that the type of system the NBA really wants?
The biggest winner of these lottery changes feel like … the Oklahoma City Thunder. Check out all of the future first-round picks OKC owns here. Now their future picks coming from the Nuggets and their swap rights with the Clippers could be even more valuable, as those teams likely wouldn’t have been near the bottom of the standings, but could be in the middle ground that is now more fruitful.
Given how much randomness is in this new system, I find myself far more open to just killing the draft entirely starting in 2030. Give every team a rookie exception they can offer top players. Let teams with cap space offer them more money beyond that. It would make sense if a bad team has more open cap space and could hypothetically offer the next Cooper Flagg a max deal out of college. If Flagg prefers to sign with his childhood favorite Boston Celtics instead, so be it.
The NBA is opening up a whole new can of worms with this lottery system, and the people it hurts the most are loyal fans of hopeless franchises. The NBA really does not want a world where those people check out of the league entirely. I feel like it could happen after these changes.
The home team is 4-0 between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Toronto tied up the series with two straight home wins in Games 3 and 4. The series turns to Cleveland for Game 5 as the Cavaliers plan to keep the home team winning streak alive.
The Cavaliers are second in offensive net rating at home compared to 12th on the road in this series. Donovan Mitchell averaged 31.0 points per game at home and in wins versus 17.5 on the road and in losses. Cleveland will have to improve its assist to turnover ratio, which has ranked bottom three in the NBA during the playoffs.
Toronto won a thriller in Game 4 behind 23 points apiece from Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes. Despite shooting 4-of-30 from three (13%) and 32% from the field (31/97), the Raptors were able to squeeze out a 93-89 win. However, Toronto has lost four of its last five road playoff games ahead of Game 5 in Cleveland.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Time: 7:40 PM EST
Site: Rocket Arena
City: Cleveland, OH
Network/Streaming: ESPN
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Game Odds: Cavaliers vs. Raptors
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Cleveland Cavaliers (-380), Toronto Raptors (+300)
Spread: Cavaliers -8.5
Total: 218.5 points
This game spread opened with Cleveland favored by 9 points and the Game Total set at 215.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Cavaliers vs. Raptors
Toronto Raptors
PG Ja’Kobe Walter
SG Brandon Ingram
SF RJ Barrett
PF Scottie Barnes
SF Jakob Poeltl
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG James Harden
SG Donovan Mitchell
SF Dean Wade
PF Evan Mobley
C Jarrett Allen
Injury Report: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Toronto Raptors
Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) has been declared OUT of for the remainder of the first round series
Cleveland Cavaliers
None
Important stats, trends and insights: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Cleveland is the second-worst in the NBA ATS at 35-51
Cleveland is 44-42 to the Under
Cleveland is 18-25, which is the second-worst ATS mark at home
Cleveland is 25-18 to the Under at home
Toronto is 52-34 to the Under, ranking tied for third-best
Toronto is 28-15 to the Under as the road team, which leads the NBA
Toronto is 44-42 ATS and 21-22 ATS as the road team
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday’s Raptors and Cavaliers’ game:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning toward a play on the Cavaliers Moneyline
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Cavaliers -8.5 ATS
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 218.5
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New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (29-24-2, 2.68 GAA, .906 SV%, 7 SO) has been named a 2026 Vezina Trophy finalist, the National Hockey League has announced.
He will be battling against Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman (31-18-4, 2.71 GAA, .908 SV%, 2 SO) and Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy (39-15-4, 2.31 GAA, .912 SV%, 2 SO).
#NHL announces that #Isles Ilya Sorokin is a Vezina finalist, along with #NHLBruins Jeremy Swayman & #GoBolts Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Per the Islanders release: "Sorokin led the NHL with seven shutouts, while posting a 29-24-2 record, a .906 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average over 55 games (54 starts) in his sixth NHL season. His save percentage ranked sixth and his goals-against average was seventh among goalies with at least 50 appearances. Among all netminders, Sorokin also led in road wins (18), ranked eighth in saves (1,386), ninth in shots against (1,530), tied for ninth in wins (29) and games played (55), and 10th in minutes (3,226). He also paced all goalies in high-danger saves (452) and high-danger save percentage (.864).
"The Mezhdurechensk, RUS native went 15-5-0 when facing more than 30 shots, including a franchise-record setting streak of 13-0-0 in such games to start the season. His 15 wins in that scenario also led the NHL. He turned aside 44 shots on January 6, the most saves by any NHL goalie in a shutout this season. The performance marked his 26th career shutout, breaking the Islanders' all-time shutout record that had stood for nearly 50 years. His seven shutouts also tied for the most by an Islander in a single season."
According to MoneyPuck.com, Sorokin's 25.3 Goals Saved Above Expected ranked third to Swayman's 28.8. Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson led the league with a 29.3 GSAE.
Sorokin has never won the Vezina. He was the Vezina runner-up in 2022-23, after posting a 31-22-7 record with a 2.34 GAA and a .924 SV%, adding a league-leading six shutouts.
Following the season, we asked Sorokin about what it would mean for him to win the Vezina.
"It's not something to discuss now. There's no chance," Sorokin said the night after the Islanders' season came to an end. "And I never think about this. I think about making the playoffs, and that didn't happen this year. But I think I had a good season, maybe ended a little bit, it went down, but in total, the guys played well. We have a good group here, good, great young guys and great veterans."
Vasilevskiy is the favorite but you never know how these things play out.
New York Knicks fans have already started trash-talking their potential Round 2 opponent, but they seem to be forgetting there’s still at least one more game against the Atlanta Hawks.
My Knicks vs. Hawks predictions aren't punching New York’s ticket just yet. Even with Karl-Anthony Towns stuffing the stat sheet, Atlanta could fight to see another day, especially if C.J. McCollum regains his form at State Farm Arena.
Here are my best NBA picks for Thursday, April 30.
Our best Knicks vs Hawks SGP for Game 6
SGP leg #1: Hawks +2
The Atlanta Hawks looked bad in their Game 5 beatdown. With their backs against the wall, the Hawks return home, where they’ve been a tough team all year.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks haven’t had the same success shooting on the road and have been a poor bet when laying points away from home, going 10-19 ATS as road chalk this season.
SGP leg #2: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 22.5 points + assists
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a quick 14 points in the opening half of Game 5, then cruised to the finish line, adding just two more over the final two quarters of the blowout.
The 7-footer not only has a scoring edge against the smaller Hawks, but he’s been a conduit for New York’s schemes, setting up his teammates for easy looks from the high post.
KAT has dished out 16 total assists over the past two contests.
SGP leg #3: C.J. McCollum Over 2.5 threes
C.J. McCollum knocked down nine triples in the first three games of this series before going cold from deep, shooting 0-for-6 from beyond the arc over the last two outings.
He’s also a noticeably better shooter at home, converting at a 40% clip compared to 34% on the road.
Player projections lean toward C.J. sinking three triples in a must-win matchup for the Hawks.
Get Jason Logan's full breakdown of this game, including his best bet, plus the latest NBA odds, injuries, and betting trends, in his Knicks vs Hawks predictions for Game 6.
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In less than a week, hockey fans across the globe will tune in to the NHL Draft Lottery.
That’s when we’ll find out the order of the first half of the first round of 2026 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place on June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Thanks to an injury-laden season like none the franchise had ever seen, the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers find themselves in the Lottery mix.
Florida finished the season with the eighth-worst record in the league.
That means the Panthers first-round selection will either be first, second, eighth, ninth or tenth, depending how the two Lottery draws go.
If Florida wins either of the draws – there is one for the first overall pick and one for the second pick – they’ll move up and select there. According to the NHL, Florida has a 6.0% chance of moving up from eighth to first.
If a team behind the Panthers wins either draw, they would move up and bump Florida back one spot to ninth. If two teams behind the Panthers each win one of the draws, that would bump the Cats back two spots, and they would pick tenth.
This year’s NHL Draft Lottery is set for Tuesday, May 5 and will be broadcast live from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Looking back over the past 30 years of the NHL Draft Lottery (the first lottery draw was held in 1995), the Panthers have some limited history with the league’s ping pong balls.
Be warned, though…it’s not much, and it starts a bit frustratingly.
In 2002, the Panthers won the NHL Draft Lottery, moving up from the third-worst record.
Fast forward two months to the 2002 NHL Draft and the Panthers decided to trade down, swapping picks with Columbus, who had the third overall pick, in exchange for “future considerations” which were that Florida would have the right to swap picks again with the Blue Jackets the following year if they so desired. That didn’t happen, and we’ll get into why in a moment.
Columbus ended up taking Rick Nash first overall while the Panthers selected Jay Bouwmeester with the third pick.
The following season, Florida finished with the fourth-worst record while Columbus finished third-worst, but for the second straight year, the Panthers ended up winning the Draft Lottery.
That meant those “future considerations” would not be needed, as the Panthers would be keeping their 2003 top pick instead of swapping with Columbus.
Once again, the Panthers decided to shop their shiny new first overall selection.
This time, they swapped picks with the Pittsburgh Penguins, again moving down from one to three.
Pittsburgh took goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the Panthers snagged Nathan Horton.
Perhaps learning from the previous year, Florida also acquired a player (Mikael Samuelsson) and a second-round pick (55th overall, Stefan Meyer) in the trade, while sending Pittsburgh a third-round pick (73rd overall, Daniel Carcillo).
So yeah, the hindsight view says the Panthers could have just kept their picks, selected Nash and Fleury, and who knows what may have happened.
Perhaps ‘the dark ages’ of Panthers hockey, where the team went 12 years between postseason appearances and 26 years between playoff series’ wins, would not have been a thing.
But alas, let’s move on.
It wasn’t for another 11 years that the Panthers would find themselves back in the Draft Lottery spotlight.
When the dust settled on the 2013-14 season, Florida finished with the second-worst record in the NHL, ahead of only the lowly Buffalo Sabres.
Then came the Draft Lottery, which saw the Panthers leapfrog Buffalo and slide into the top pick.
This time, Florida hung onto their selection and took defenseman Aaron Ekblad first overall.
It was a decision that has panned out nicely for the Panthers, as Ekblad has become a cornerstone player for the franchise and a big part in Florida’s current championship pedigree.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the Lottery gods once again smile on the Panthers when the ping pong balls are let loose next Tuesday in Secaucus.
While that would be amazing for Florida and their prospects of remaining a Stanley Cup contender for years to come, the rest of the league would likely have some not-so-nice thoughts about the development.
Photo caption: Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Aaron Ekblad puts on a team jersey after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. (Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Congratulations are apparently in order for Dylan Lee and his family, as he’s been reinstated from the paternity list after missing Tuesday’s Braves win over the Tigers. Of course, there’s got to be a corresponding move and as it turns out, Didier Fuentes isn’t going straight down. Instead, Carlos Carrasco’s time with the Braves big league squad is over as he’s been designated for assignment by the Braves.
Carlos Carrasco was called up initially after Dylan Dodd ended up going to the IL with a back ailment. He tossed a grand total of one inning during his latest big-league stint with the Braves. It was a scoreless inning where Carrasco retired the Nationals in order to finish off Washington and push the Braves over the line for a series win. Outside of that, Carrasco hadn’t really figured into the plans and now he’s going to go into the DFA cycle like schyoo mentioned in the Feed post above.
I’d say that it’s very likely that Carrasco will pass through waivers and assuming he doesn’t elect free agency, he’ll be back with Gwinnett. It’s a much-lower stakes situation here than with Martín Pérez’s DFA journey but it’s still one where you hope that Carlos Carrasco (or any player, really) can land on their feet no matter what happens. Either way, don’t be shocked if Carrasco ends up back with Gwinnett once this process runs its course.
Apr 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; The Minnesota Wild celebrate the win over the Dallas Stars in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron/Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
DALLAS — Mats Zuccarello and the Minnesota Wild now are in the position that they try to be in every season in the NHL playoffs.
Things feel a bit different now, with the Wild going home for Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Dallas Stars and advance to the second round for the first time since 2015.
“I think it’s important just to stay calm. You know, don’t overthink it,” said Zuccarello, the 16-year NHL veteran in his seventh season with the Wild. “Don’t read whatever you guys (media) say about we haven’t gotten out of the first round in a couple of years. Just calm and collected.”
Zuccarello scored the first goal less than four minutes into Game 5 in Dallas, which was the 38-year-old top-line forward’s return from a three-game absence with an upper-body injury. The Wild, in their 12th playoff appearance over 14 seasons, went on to a 4-2 win for a 3-2 series lead.
The only other time Minnesota ever has had a 3-2 series lead was that first round in 2015, when they beat St. Louis in six games. The Wild since have lost nine consecutive playoff series, including to Dallas in 2016 and 2023.
“We’ve got to just look to control our emotions in Game 6 and in front of our home crowd, a place where we had a good feeling leaving last time,” said forward Marcus Foligno said, who is in his ninth season. “I think it’s a little bit different. I think we have a lot of leadership and guys that are experienced. ... It’s a close group but a really hard working group and a confident one right now.”
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon and fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin are the only two current players who have taken part in a postseason series victory in Minnesota. Spurgeon then was a 25-year-old in his fifth of his 16 NHL seasons — all with the same team. Brodin’s status is uncertain for the potential clincher at home after leaving Game 5 with a lower-body injury.
If Minnesota can’t wrap up the powerhouse first-round series at home, where it won Game 4 in overtime, a deciding Game 7 would be in Dallas.
The series winner will advance to play well-rested top-seeded Central Division foe Colorado, which finished off a sweep of its first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.
Kirill Kaprizov had two assists, two days after his 29th birthday, before an empty-net goal with two minutes left. His second goal in this series was the 17th playoff goal of his career, breaking a tie with Zach Parise for the most in franchise history. His ninth career multipoint playoff game also surpassed Parise.
Matt Boldy, the 25-year-old budding standout, had the tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period after having one taken away because of a goalie interference challenge at the end of the first.
Jesper Wallstedt, their 23-year-old rookie who has started every game in net over Filip Gustavsson in this series, had 20 saves in Game 5. He has allowed only three goals against the Stars in five-on-five situations, with neither coming that way.
“We’re very confident of where we’re at. ... Now we get to bring the series home,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve never played in a game of that type of magnitude. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to it so much.”
The Chicago Blackhawks have some decisions to make this offseason. If they want to take that next step and compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, it would not necessarily be surprising if they looked to make some upgrades to their group.
Due to this, in a recent article for The Athletic, Scott Powers urged the Blackhawks to add a top-four defenseman and a top-six forward this offseason.
The idea of the Blackhawks adding a top-four defenseman is an interesting one. They have several promising young blueliners on their roster who will be competing for spots on the NHL roster next season. While this is the case, it also could be beneficial for the Blackhawks to add a proven top-four NHL defenseman.
When it comes to adding a top-six forward, Powers argued that the Blackhawks should bring one in if Roman Kantserov does not sign his entry-level contract with Chicago this offseason and if they don't land either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg in the draft.
The Blackhawks need to give Connor Bedard more help on his wings, so it would make a lot of sense for the Blackhawks to add a proven top-six winger. As for their blueline, it is already crowded, but adding a top-four defenseman could be worth it if it is a player who would help them out significantly.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Blackhawks address these needs during the summer from here.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 26: Alejandro Osuna #19 of the Texas Rangers whistles from the dugout during a game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on April 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for April 29, 2026 against the New York Yankees: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Elmer Rodriguez for the Yankees.
It is the final game of this series, and the final game of April. Elmer Rodriguez, a consensus top 100 prospect who has a 1.27 ER in 21 innings at AAA this year, is making his major league debut for the Yankees. Josh Smith gets the day off.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Jung — 3B
Seager — SS
Pederson — DH
Burger — 1B
Carter — CF
Higashioka — C
Osuna — LF
Duran — 2B
1:35 p.m. Central start time. The game is a pick ‘em.
NEW YORK CITY - MARCH 25: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media following the Board of Governors meetings on March 25, 2026 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The NBA has circulated a singular proposal for draft lottery reform to every team’s general managers, according to a report by ESPN’s Shams Charania. The league floated three disparate proposals back in March, but appears to have coalesced around one extremely complicated proposal. It’s worth noting that the NBA Player’s Association countered the league suggestions with a much simpler proposal that tied revenue sharing with winning, but the league office unsurprisingly has taken no action to pursue that approach.
Instead, the proposal would expand the lottery to include 16 teams, comprising the 10 teams that miss the Play-In Tournament, the two losers of each conference’s 7-8 play-in matchup, and the four 9-10 seeds. Rather than giving the most lottery balls to the worst teams, the system would instead most heavily favor teams with the 4th through 10th worst records in the league.
Teams that finished with the three worst records would each receive two lottery balls and could not fall below the 12th pick. Teams that finished 4-10 would receive three lottery balls. The 9-10 seeds would receive two lottery balls. The loser of the 7-8 play-in game would receive one lottery ball. Most impactfully, the lottery would be drawn for all 16 picks (as opposed to the current system that only picks the top-four before going in reverse standings order).
The reform also would not allow the same team to receive the first overall pick in back-to-back years, would not allow any team from receiving a top-five pick in three consecutive years, and would not allow teams to protect picks in the 12-15 range.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 07: Jonathan India #6 of the Kansas City Royals runs off the field after the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 07, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Royals announced this week that Jonathan India will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing labral surgery on his left shoulder, an injury that has seemed to plague him since last summer. The Royals originally acquired India hoping he would be the top-of-the-order hitter who could get on base, but his numbers fell off significantly after arriving in Kansas City.
India was a below-replacement-level player for the Royals over the last two years, so almost anyone replacing him would serve as an upgrade. Michael Massey will almost certainly get the first crack at filling in at second base. The 28-year-old was the starter in 2024, when the Royals reached the playoffs, but he has struggled to stay on the field. He shows good power potential and exhibits spectacular defense at times, but he is a very low on-base-percentage hitter, with a career line of .243/.282/.385. This will likely be a make-or-break opportunity for him, as he will be eligible for his second year of arbitration this offseason.
The Royals could also use former first-round pick Nick Loftin at second base, particularly against tough lefties. Loftin has shown the kind of plate discipline in the minors that Massey lacks, but he has hit just .224/.301/.327 over parts of three big league seasons. There’s a chance he follows the Whit Merrifield career path, but his destiny currently seems more like that of a utility bench player.
Should the Royals view this as an opportunity? The team has been seeking to lengthen the lineup, and while the development of Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone has helped, the offense has still struggled at times. Could a replacement for India come from outside the organization?
The league is full of large-market teams that have stumbled out to terrible starts. Two managers have already been fired – Alex Cora in Boston and Rob Thomson in Philadelphia – and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is reportedly on the hot seat. If these teams can’t claw their way back into the race, they could punt on the season and begin selling off assets. Sure, the Royals aren’t much better, but they’re only 2.5 games out of first place right now. Thanks for the mediocrity, AL Central!
Bryson Stott has another year of club control in Philadelphia, so the Phillies seem likely to hang onto him unless they blow the entire roster up. However, Edmundo Sosa is a free agent this winter and hit .276/.307/.469 with 11 home runs in 89 games last year. He has generally been a league-average hitter with good defense and could be valuable in a larger role. The Phillies also have infielder Otto Kemp, who has raked in Triple-A – he hit .310/.417/.570 with 16 home runs in 74 games last year – but that production has yet to translate at the big league level. The 26-year-old may be more of a Quad-A player, but the acquisition cost likely wouldn’t be prohibitive.
The Royals almost certainly don’t want to take on the large contract of a struggling veteran second baseman, but there have been rumors of prior interest in Brett Baty. The 26-year-old is struggling this year, but he hit .254/.313/.435 with 18 home runs last season. He has spent most of his time at third base, but he did play 57 games at second last year, and he could provide some positional versatility.
And of course, the Royals could acquire Adam Frazier for a third consecutive year. The Royals just saw the former All-Star during their series against the Angels, but with his team floundering in the standings, they could look to move the veteran. Frazier is off to a good start, hitting .265/.357/.429, and as we saw last summer, the acquisition cost likely wouldn’t be high.
How do you think the Royals should fill the hole at second base? Is it Michael Massey’s spot to lose, or should the Royals aggressively seek an upgrade?
First-round No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed matchups are supposed to be perfunctory. The No. 8 seed shows some grit, but the talent disparity is too much, and the top seed shows why they earned that spot and cruises into the next round. See Oklahoma City vs. Phoenix as example 1A.
However, the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons find themselves down 3-1 and on the verge of elimination at the hands of the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic — and the Magic deserve this lead. They have been the better team, showing (slightly) better offense, a much better defense, and the Magic have been better coached despite the Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff being voted Coach of the Year by his peers and Jamahl Mosley allegedly being on the verge of being fired.
How did Detroit get here? What is working for Orlando? It's a combination of things — but things that were projected as potential Detroit weaknesses that the organization and lead executive Trajon Langdon consciously chose not to address at the trade deadline. Orlando has taken away Detroit's Plan A, and it really has no Plan B.
Here's how we got here.
Orlando matches Detroit’s physicality
During the regular season, Detroit bullied teams to a top-10 offense in the league. The Pistons led the league in points in the paint, averaging 57.9 points per game. Cade Cunningham would drive into the lane and finish, and Jalen Duren finished second in Most Improved Player voting because he was getting fed the rock and scoring near the rim. Combine that with an elite defense and it was enough to win 60 games.
Detroit had to play this way, it didn't have the shooting, and only 28% of its points came on 3-pointers, the second lowest in the league. Detroit was just more physical and more committed to scoring in the paint than their opponents. Finally fully healthy, Orlando has the size and physicality to match Detroit, and because the Magic don't fear the Pistons' outside shooters, they can and have packed the paint. Wendell Carter Jr. has been brilliant this series, but it's also a schematic thing from Mosley: the Magic are packing the paint, collapsing to take away lanes on Cunningham's drives, and throwing extra bodies at anyone and everyone inside. Part of the result of that is Cunningham is turning the ball over more; he has 24 turnovers through the last three games, an NBA playoff record for a three-game stretch (it had been 22, held by James Harden and Larry Bird).
Through four games, Detroit's defense has been good enough, holding Orlando to just a 102 offensive rating.
However, the Pistons are averaging less than a point per possession on offense this series. They are scoring 43.5 points per game in the paint, down more than 14 from their regular-season average. There is a counter to that, which brings us to the other key issue.
Detroit lacks shooting, shot creators
In theory, Cunningham could drive into the teeth of the Magic defense, make it collapse, then kick out to open shooters to knock down the 3 — except the Pistons lack shooting. As a team, Detroit is shooting 27.5% from 3-point range in the series. The only Pistons player shooting a decent percentage from 3 is Duncan Robinson at 37% on nearly seven attempts per game, but the problem is that he is a defensive liability who the Magic attack, so it's tough to keep him on the court.
The Pistons also don't have another shot creator to turn to to help out Cunningham (Daniss Jenkins is shooting 26.1% this series; this is a big stage for him).
Jalen Duren has struggled through four games, averaging just 9.8 points a game on 46.9% shooting (down from 19.5 on 65% in the regular season). Credit Carter for some of that, but Duren has not shown the ability to score in ways other than getting fed and being a bully inside. Bickerstaff has stuck with Durent despite Isaiah Stewart being better this series — as good a defender with 3-point range who has to be respected by defenders, which could open up the paint (or lead to open looks). Bicketstaff has to be willing to make a bold playoff change, and this would be one.
However, Bickerstaff also is playing the cards dealt him. The concerns about the lack of shooting and shot creation were known, but Langdon and company said they wanted to see what this group could do in the postseason, then adjust. They were intentionally quiet at the trade deadline, adding only Kevin Huerter (in the Jaden Ivey trade), and he has played 27 minutes all series.
Now Langdon has his answer, and it's not pretty.
Detroit is still alive and at home tonight, with a chance to extend its season and force a Game 6 back in Orlando. However, those Pistons also have to win three games in a row and have not looked like a team with answers to the questions the Magic are posing.
It's going to have to be more than just out-muscling a team in the paint.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 12, 2026: Kristian Campbell #28 of the Boston Red Sox runs out a single during the second inning of a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at Lee Health Sports Complex on March 12, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
It’s notable that Seth Martinez, who struggled out of the gate, was not meant to be the starter in this game. That slot belonged to Jake Bennett, who was scratched earlier in the day. It’s also notable that Toronto is just a three hour ride through the New York State Thruway (our version of the Pike you all know) and Ontario Highway 403 away from Rochester, where the Nationals AAA squad and the WooSox are faring off all week. The big lefty has been preserved as far as innings go this season, but still throws hard and has been unhittable, or, at least, unable to be scored upon.
But, Bennett didn’t play Tuesday, and a bunch of other WooSox did. Though, the bats were really stagnant. The team relied on extra base hits by just Kristian Campbell and Mickey Gasper, and neither scored; that honor was fittingly scored by a sacrifice grounder by Anthony Seigler to score leadoff hitter Nick Sogard, which doesn’t quite sound right. Kristian Campbell’s OPS has been climbing to a respectable level, but it’s easy to highlight him when the rest of the Worcester lineup lacks the punch. Conversely, the Red Wings had no problem scoring on the WooSox, as, in addition to Martinez’s rough start, Noah Song got hit around for six runs in seven outs.
Gage Ziehl shouldn’t have taken the loss going seven innings and allowing just two runs on five hits without walking any Patriots (Yankees AA), but the lackluster Portland bats caused the loss here. Both runs scored were off of home runs, and when you allow two home runs, it makes it tough when you can only muster one run. That’s math! If you’re on Franklin Arias home run watch, he has now reached his longest drought (two games) since he hit his first home run of the season, but he did have the Sea Dogs’ only RBI of the night. It didn’t help, though, that every starter in the lineup contributed to Portland’s 14 strikeouts.
It looked as though this game would be much different for the Drive in Hub City, aka Spartanburg (Rangers High-A) before Greenville exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the 8 after allowing 4 runs in the top of the frame. The Drive treated that eighth inning like it was batting practice, teeing off for four home runs and quickly turning a close game into a blowout and allowed reliever Calvin Bickerstaff, who allowed the headache in the first place, to do a type of slamming the door that I’d envision would include hitting the door on your toe and jumping up and down before slamming it a second time.
Pitching was the real differene maker in this game: the Warbirds (Brewers A) managed just six runners on the night off of Myles Patton and Jacob Mayers, each of whom have looked good in their last couple of appearances. Meanwhile, no one knew it yet, but this game was over by the third batter of the game all the way in the top of hte first as the RidgeYaks’ catcher Luke Heyman hit a two-run shot to put Salem up for good.
