In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

NHL Model Predictions- Click Here

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NBA, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 9-2

Over/Under Predictions: 3-8

Spread Predictions: 5-5-1

Featured Matchup: 0-1

Six NBA games are scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all six matchups can be found below.

Dallas Mavericks @ Toronto Raptors

Model Predicts- Mavericks ML, UNDER 237.5, Mavericks -3

The Dallas Mavericks will head into the second game of a back-to-back tonight, with their next matchup coming against the Toronto Raptors.

Dallas enters tonight’s matchup fresh off a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, a game that Dallas was winning until Cavaliers guard Max Strus nailed a 60-foot shot to win the game as time expired. Meanwhile, Toronto enters tonight on a three-game win streak, its longest of the season.

The young Raptors squad appears to be trending in the right direction, but our model expects the Mavericks to bounce back after last night’s heartbreaking loss. Let’s dive into why that is.

Dallas Mavericks

• Coming off loss to Cavaliers on Tuesday

  • Lost 121-119. Led game with under five seconds to play

  • Shot 53% overall and 42% from three

• Have been one of best teams in February

  • Rank 8th in Net Rating (+7.5) and 6th in Offensive Rating (118.2)

  • 3-2 while on the road

• Injuries- Dante Exum (Questionable)

Toronto Raptors

• Enter tonight on three-game win streak

  • Beat Nets, Hawks, and Pacers

  • +38 point differential in that time

• Have struggled this month despite new momentum

  • Own -7.1 Net Rating since February 1st

  • Struggling on home court- 108.1 Offensive Rating, 2-3 record

• Injuries- Jakob Poeltl and Markquis Nowell both questionable

What’s the Play?

At first glance this is a matchup that looks like Dallas could struggle in given the lack of rest and last night’s brutal loss, but we agree with our model that this is a good spot to back the Mavericks.

Toronto’s recent win streak have come against lackluster teams, with the only decent win being against the Pacers. Atlanta has had its fair share of struggles this season and doesn’t pose a threat to many teams, and Brooklyn has been held to under 100 points in six of its last ten games, once against showing that Toronto was not faced with much pressure in this stretch.

Dallas is an entirely different monster on the offensive end compared to those teams, and is a stellar 6-3 against the spread this season when playing with no rest (TeamRankings). We’ll back Dallas to cover here.

The Play: Mavericks -3 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Dallas Mavericks- 33-25 overall this season, 7-3 in last ten games

• Cleveland Cavaliers- 38-19 overall this season, 18-9 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Chicago Bulls- Over is 31-26-1 this season, 15-14 as the home team

• Los Angeles Clippers- Under is 32-22-2 this season, 16-10-1 as the home team

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Dallas Mavericks- 31-27 against the spread (ATS) this season, 6-3 ATS when playing with no rest

☘️ Jaylen Brown leads Celtics to win over 76ers. Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla emphasizes learning and adaptation over immediate success, a philosophy that paid off in their recent game against the 76ers. Despite being known for their 3-point shooting, the Celtics had to rely on other strategies due to the 76ers' defense, leading to what Mazzulla called one of their best games this season. Jaylen Brown's 31-point performance showcased the team's growth, with Brown noting their ability to win in various ways, such as getting to the free-throw line and scoring in the paint.

💪 Thunder beat Rockets, remain tied for #1 seed in West. The Oklahoma City Thunder secured their sixth consecutive victory by defeating the Houston Rockets 112-95, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge with 31 points. Jalen Williams contributed 24 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who now share the best record in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite their offensive struggles, the Thunder's strong defensive performance, particularly in rebounding where they outdid the Rockets 55-46, helped them maintain control of the game.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- Who did the Detroit Tigers select with the No.2 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft?

Question #2- Who led the NBA in points per game during the 2015-16 season?

Question #3- Tom Izzo has led Michigan State to how many Final Four appearances since being named head coach in 1995?

Anyone know what has happened on February 28th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On February 28th…

1960- The United States men’s hockey team wins its first ever Olympic gold medal. The U.S. took down Czechoslovakia to make history, dominating the entire game and winning by a score of 9-4. The United States men’s hockey team has since won one additional Olympic gold medal.

1991- MLB star Don Mattingly is named the 10th captain in New York Yankees history. Mattingly served as team captain from 1991-95, and was the first since Ron Guidry held the honor from 1986-1988. Only two other players have served as captain since Mattingly, with those players being Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge.

1998- NHL legend Mark Messier becomes the fourth player in NHL history to reach 1,600 career points. Messier reached the milestone as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, who he would play for from 1997-2000. He would finish his career with 1,887 points, the third most in NHL history?

1. Justin Verlander

2. Stephen Curry

3. 8