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 NFL, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 1-1

Over/Under Predictions: 0-2

Spread Predictions: 1-1

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic

Model Predicts- Cavaliers ML, OVER 215.5, Cavaliers -1.5

The Cleveland Cavaliers will continue their four-game road trip on Monday, with the next stop coming in Orlando, Florida to take on the Magic.

Cleveland enters tonight’s battle as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, posting a perfect 7-0 record across the last seven games. The Cavaliers now own a 25-15 record for the season, while Orlando is beginning to slump and sits in 8th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-20 record.

Cleveland has all the momentum on its side, and our model thinks that will lead to an eighth consecutive victory tonight. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Enter tonight on seven-game win streak

  • Wins over Wizards (twice), Spurs, Nets, Bulls, Bucks, and Hawks

  • +153 point differential in that span

• Dominating on both ends of floor during win streak

  • +22.1 Net Rating- 1st in NBA by more than 10.0 points

  • Have held opponents to 102 points or less in six of seven games

• Injuries- Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Ty Jerome are OUT. Caris LeVert is questionable

Orlando Magic

• Fresh off win against Miami Heat yesterday

  • Won 105-87

  • Shot 47% overall, but poor 32% from three

• Have been one of worst teams in NBA in 2024

  • Rank 20th in Net Rating (-2.6)

  • Offensive struggles have led to slump- 24th in Offensive Rating, shooting 45.1% from floor

• Injuries- Cole Anthony and Gary Harris are questionable

What’s the Play?

Cleveland’s win streak will come to an end at some point, but we think this is a great spot to back the Cavs.

Cleveland is as hot as a team can get, and catching a slumping Magic team on a back-to-back gives the Cavs a massive advantage. Additionally, Orlando is just 2-6 straight up this season on the back end of a back-to-back (TeamRankings) further proving that this is a horrible spot for the Magic to be in.

We’ll take the Cavs on the money line here at -120.

The Play: Cavaliers ML (-120)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Cleveland Cavaliers- 25-15 overall this season, 7-0 in last seven games

• Phoenix Suns- 24-18 overall this season, 5-0 in last five games

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Sacramento Kings- Over is 14-6-1 as the home team this season

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Cleveland Cavaliers- 21-17-2 against the spread (ATS) this season, 14-9-2 ATS as a favorite

☀️ Durant scores 40, Suns win fifth straight game. The Phoenix Suns secured their fifth consecutive victory as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 117-110 on Sunday night. Kevin Durant led the scoring with 40 points, supported by Devin Booker's 26 points and Bradley Beal's 25 points. The All-Star trio of Durant, Booker, and Beal has now combined for 91 points in two consecutive games, contributing to the Suns' recent success and five-game winning streak.

🏆 Jokic has MVP performance against Wizards. Nikola Jokic delivered a stellar performance with 42 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 113-104 victory over the Washington Wizards. Jokic, praised by coach Mike Malone, showcased his skills with a 15-of-20 field goal record and 12-of-14 free throws, along with three blocked shots. Despite Washington's efforts, Denver's reigning world champs secured a comfortable lead, and Jokic received MVP chants from fans as he closed out the game with free throws.

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- How many times has Patrick made the AFC Championship game in his career?

Question #2- Who was the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft?

Question #3- What team finished in first place in the AL Central in the 2023 MLB season?

Anyone know what has happened on January 22nd throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 22nd…

2006- Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in the Lakers victory over the Toronto Raptors. Bryant dominated the game from the jump, shooting 60.8% from the floor and 90% from the free throw line. The performance is the second-highest scoring output in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points.

2017- The Atlanta Flacons beat the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC Championship game. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was the star of the game, throwing for 392 yards and four touchdowns in the contest. Atlanta would then go on to lose the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots, the same game they held a 28-3 lead in.

2018- DeMarcus Cousins tallies 44 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 132-128 win over the Chicago Bulls. The performance came in part due to two overtime periods, with Cousins shooting 13/29 overall and 13/14 from the free throw line in the game. He would be the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in 1972 to record 40+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 10+ assists in a single game.

1. Six

2. David Robinson

3. Minnesota Twins