In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

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NCAAB Model Predictions- Click Here

There were no model predictions yesterday, January 4, 2024.

14 NBA games are schedule to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all 14 matchups can be found below.

Atlanta Hawks @ Indiana Pacers

Model Predicts- Pacers ML, UNDER 262, Pacers -3

The Atlanta Hawks will begin a short two-game road trip on Friday, with the first stop coming in Indianapolis, Indiana to take on the Pacers.

Atlanta enters tonight’s matchup with a rather poor 14-19 record, but has started to reverse course after picking up two consecutive wins over the Wizards and Thunder. Meanwhile, Indiana sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 19-14 record.

Both of these teams have some momentum on their side in the new year, but our model expects the Pacers to win and cover the spread tonight. Let’s dive into why that is.

Atlanta Hawks

• Enter tonight on two-game win streak

  • Beat Wizards and Thunder

  • Thunder on back end of back-to-back

• Have looked terrible defensively despite those wins

  • Own 122.2 Defensive Rating during win streak

  • Surrendering 132 points per game. Opponents shooting 50.8% overall and 39.3 % form three

• Injuries- De’Andre Hunter is OUT

Indiana Pacers

• Enter tonight on five-game win streak

  • Wins over Rockets, Bulls, Knicks, and Bucks (twice)

• Have dominated in almost every game during win streak

  • Own +10.6 Net Rating in those five-games (2nd in NBA)

  • Defensive is improving- Defensive Rating has decreased by 5.3 points when compared to season Def. rating

• Injuries- Bruce Brown and Andrew Nembhard are questionable

What’s the Play?

The Pacers are arguably the hottest team in the NBA right now, and we agree with our model that they can cover the short three-point spread tonight.

Atlanta has looked great offensively, but its vulnerability on the defensive end is still hard to ignore. The Hawks have won their last two games by a combined seven points, with one of those wins coming over a Wizards team that has only eight wins this season, while the other was against a Thunder squad that was put in a tough scheduling spot.

Indiana is no powerhouse defensively either, but the Pacers have shown improvements on that end recently, which should compliment their already potent offense. We’ll take Indiana here.

The Play: Pacers -3 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Indiana Pacers- 19-14 overall this season, 5-0 in last five games

• Los Angeles Clippers- 21-12 overall this season, 8-2 in last ten games

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Charlotte Hornets- Over is 17-15 this season, 10-7 as the away team

• Portland Trail Blazers- Under is 18-15 this season, 9-8 as the away team

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Indiana Pacers- 19-14 against the spread (ATS) this season, 10-7 ATS as the home team

• Houston Rockets- 19-11-2 ATS this season, 6-3 ATS as a home underdog

🎽 Magic to retire Shaquille O’Neals number. Shaquille O'Neal, a four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer, will have his No. 32 jersey retired by the Orlando Magic on February 13. Orlando is the third NBA team to honor him in this way, joining the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. O'Neal's impactful four-year stint with the Magic, highlighted by reaching the NBA Finals in 1995, cemented his legacy within the franchise, where he remains among the top players in various statistical categories like blocked shots, rebounds, and points scored.

🗳 Early All-Star voting results are in. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers are leading the initial All-Star fan voting in their respective conferences. They are followed closely by Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, who are in second for the frontcourt positions for the Western and Eastern Conferences. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, the league leader in assists, amassed nearly 1.4 million votes as the sole backcourt player in the East to exceed the 1-million mark, while Luka Doncic holds the top guard spot in the West.

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- Which quarterback did the Cincinnati Bengals select with the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft?

Question #2- Which team leads the NFL in penalties per game this season?

Question #3- Shaquille O’Neal played for what Eastern Conference team in the final season of his NBA career?

Anyone know what has happened on January 4th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 4th…

1992- Boston Celtics legend Robert Parrish records his 2,000th career block. Parrish became the fifth player in NBA history to reach the milestone, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Eaton, Wayne Rollins, and George Johnson on the list. He would end his career with 2,361 blocks, the 10th most in NBA history.

2001- Michael Jordan scores his 30,000th NBA point. Jordan, then a member of the Washington Wizards, achieved the milestone with a free throw in an 89-83 win over the Chicago Bulls. He became just the 4th player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points, and would finish his career with 32,392.

2006- The Texas Longhorns, a seven-point underdog, defeat the USC Trojans in the 8th BCS National Championship. Texas took home the title with a 41-38 win, which included scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter. Vince Young, who threw for 267 yards and added an additional 200 on the ground, was named offensive MVP.

1. Carson Palmer

2. New York Jets

3. Boston Celtics