In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

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There were no model predictions yesterday, January 7, 2023.

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

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Clippers

Model Predicts- Clippers ML, UNDER 229.5, Suns +6.5

The Phoenix Suns will begin a three-game West Coast road trip on Monday, with the first stop coming in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers.

Phoenix enters tonight’s matchup with a 19-17 record after most recently falling short to the Memphis Grizzlies, good enough to place the Suns in eighth place in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, L.A. enters tonight’s battle with a stellar 22-13 record and sits in fourth in the West.

The new-look Clippers have been the better team for a large portion of the 2023-24 season and our model doesn’t see that changing tonight. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Phoenix Suns

• Most recent game was loss to Grizzlies

  • Scored 115 points, but shot a poor 29% from three and 68% from the free throw line

• Have struggled to get much going over last month

  • Own 8-10 record since December 1st

  • -0.5 Net Rating in that time- 19th in NBA

• Injuries- Eric Gordon, Nassir Little, and Bol Bol all questionable

Los Angeles Clippers

• Most recent game was loss to Lakers

  • Shot 40% from floor on way to scoring just 103 points

• Have gone 5-1 in last six games

  • +59 point differential

  • Own +9.7 point differential in that time (4th in NBA)

• Injuries- Moussa Diabate (OUT)

What’s the Play?

Our model shows a slight edge when it comes to backing Phoenix on the spread here, but we agree with our model that this is a good spot to back the under.

One thing the Clippers and Suns have done well recently is show up on the defensive end. L.A. ranks 3rd in Defensive Rating while Phoenix ranks 12th over the last six games, showing that each team is capable of holding its opponent in check tonight.

There were 253 points scored the last team these two teams played, a game that was played in Phoenix. However, the under is 12-5-1 this season when the Clippers are the home team, and we think these two solid defenses will force that trend to continue tonight.

The Play: Under 229.5 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Boston Celtics- 28-7 overall this season, 8-2 in last ten games

• Los Angeles Clippers- 22-13 overall this season, 14-4 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Phoenix Suns- Under is 8-6 as the away team

• Los Angeles Clippers- Under is 21-13-1 this season, 12-5-1 as the home team

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Oklahoma City Thunder- 23-10-1 against the spread (ATS) this season, 9-5-1 ATS as the away team

🦖 Barrett leads Raptors to win over Warriors. RJ Barrett showcased his tremendous scoring ability on Sunday, leading the Toronto Raptors to a 133-118 victory against the Golden State Warriors. Barrett, playing in just his fourth game since joining his hometown team, scored a season-best 37 points while emphasizing his commitment to teamwork and learning. While Klay Thompson contributed 25 points for the Warriors, they struggled, shooting poorly and never quite finding their rhythm, ultimately unable to bridge the huge first-half deficit.

👌 Irving comes up clutch to defeat Timberwolves. Kyrie Irving led the Dallas Mavericks with 35 points, hitting crucial 3-pointers late in the game to secure a 115-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luka Doncic contributed 34 points, aiding in the Mavericks' win by shooting well from beyond the arc. The victory helped the Mavericks improve to a 12-5 record in clutch games, proving pivotal against the Timberwolves' 11-3 clutch game record.

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 have the Carolina Panthers made the postseason since losing the Super Bowl in 2015?

Question #2- One current NBA player played college basketball in the Big West Conference. Who is that player?

Question #3- Aaron Rodgers has won how many MVPs since 2014?

Anyone know what has happened on January 8th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 8th…

1995- Philadelphia Phillies legend Mike Schmidt is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Schmidt played his entire MLB career with Philly, which spanned from 1972-1989. He would end his career with 548 home runs and 1,595, also winning the MVP three times and the World Series once.

2009- The Florida Gators defeat the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship game. Florida took home the trophy with a 24-14 win, taking the lead in the second quarter and never looking back. Quarterback Tim Tebow was named offensive MVP, while Carlos Dunlap was named defensive MVP.

2013- Steve Nash records his 10,000th career assist. Nash reached the milestone in a 125-112 loss, recording 16 points and 10 assists in 34 minutes despite the loss. Nash would end his career with 10,335 assists, the fifth-most in NBA history.

1. 1

2. Gabe Vincent

3. 3