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 NHL, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchups. 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: 1-1

Puck Line Predictions: 2-0

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz

Model Predicts- Thunder ML, UNDER 246.5, Thunder -3

The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their four-game road trip on Thursday night, with the next stop coming in Salt Lake City, Utah to take on the Jazz.

Oklahoma City enters tonight’s battle as No.2 seed in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record, but things have gone poorly as of late, with the Thunder losing two consecutive games to the Lakers and Clippers. Meanwhile, Utah is in the midst of a great run, entering tonight on a six-game win streak.

Utah has been the far more consistent team lately, but our model still sees value on the Thunder here. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Enter tonight on two-game losing streak

  • Losses to Lakers and Clippers

  • -18 point differential. Games came on back-to-back nights

• Dominated Jazz earlier this season

  • Won 134-120. Winning by 36 points after three quarters

  • Shot 52% overall and 47% from three

• Injuries- No players listed on injury report

Utah Jazz

• Hottest team in NBA

  • 6-0 in last six games. 12-2 in last 14 games

  • Rank 2nd in Net Rating (+17.9) during win streak

• Offense is dominating its opponents

  • 128.3 Offensive Rating in last six games (2nd in NBA)

  • Shooting 53.5% overall and 40.1% from three in sam six games

• Injuries- No players listed on injury report

What’s the Play?

Utah looks unstoppable right now and had an extra day of rest after yesterday’s game with Golden State was postponed, but we agree with our model that a fully healthy OKC squad can win and cover the spread here.

What the Jazz have done recently shouldn’t be ignored, but part of their success comes from advantages in scheduling. Utah beat Philadelphia and Indiana while both teams were on a back-to-back, and smoked Toronto in what was its third game in four days. The rest advantage has heavily favored the Jazz during this run, but that is out the window tonight.

OKC dominated Utah in their first matchup, with a late scoring outburst from the Jazz making the game seem much closer than it was. The Thunder are the better team here, and we’ll back them to end Utah’s run.

The Play: Thunder -3 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Chicago Bulls- 19-23 overall this season, 4-2 in last six games

• Oklahoma City Thunder- 27-13 overall this season, 11-8 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• New York Knicks- Under is 22-19 this season, 8-5 as a home favorite

• Chicago Bulls- Over is 22-20 this season, 11-8 as the away team

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Oklahoma City Thunder- 26-13-1 against the spread (ATS) this season, 17-8 ATS as a favorite

🤝 Pacers acquire Pascal Siakam in trade with Toronto. The Indiana Pacers announced the acquisition of Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Bruce Brown, Kira Lewis Jr., Jordan Nwora, and three first-round picks. As part of the deal, the Pacers are sending their own 2024 and 2026 first-round picks to Toronto, along with the worst 2024 pick from the Rockets, Thunder, Jazz, or Clippers. In addition, the Pacers acquired Kira Lewis Jr. and a 2024 second-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the day for cash considerations.

🙏 Warriors assistant passes away at age 46. Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic passed away at the age of 46, having suffered a heart attack during a private team dinner in Utah on Tuesday. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed deep sorrow, describing Milojevic as not only an exceptional basketball coach but also a positive and beautiful human being. The NBA postponed the Warriors' game against the Utah Jazz following the news, and league commissioner Adam Silver remembered Milojevic as a beloved colleague and friend within the global basketball community.

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 was the first quarterback selected in the 1997 NFL Draft?

Question #2- What current Memphis Grizzlies player played college basketball in the Summit League?

Question #3- Hunter Dickinson attended what university before transferring to Kansas this season?

Anyone know what has happened on January 18th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 18th…

1963- Al Davis becomes the head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders. The hiring came following a season in which Oakland won just one game, leading to Davis being hired after being denied the position the year prior. Davis led the Raiders to a 10-4 record in his first season and was named Coach of the Year.

2015- The Seattle Seahawks defeat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship. Seattle would win the game by a score of 28-22 in overtime, with Jermaine Kearse scoring the game-winning touchdown to send Seattle to the Super Bowl. However, Seattle would go on to lose the Super Bowl, falling short to the New England Patriots.

2022- The Boston Bruins retire Willie O’Ree’s #22 jersey. O’Ree was the first black player in the history of the NHL, and the ceremony came on the 64th anniversary of his NHL debut. He would go on to play professional hockey from 1958-1979, with most of his time spent in the WHL.

1. Jim Drunkenmiller

2. John Konchar

3. University of Michigan