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 Matchup. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 6-6

Over/Under Predictions: 4-8

Puck Line Predictions: 7-5

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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

Orlando Magic @ Toronto Raptors

Model Predicts- Magic ML, OVER 215.5, Magic -7.5

The Orlando Magic will hit the road for just one game on Friday, making the journey to Toronto, Ontario to take on the Raptors.

Orlando enters tonight’s matchup looking like a well-oiled machine, emerging victorious in seven of the last ten games. The Magic now owns a 38-28 record this season, while Toronto sits at 23-43 and fading further down the Eastern Conference standings.

These teams are trending in opposite directions ate the moment, and our model expects that trend to continue tonight as it believes the Magic will win and cover the spread. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Orlando Magic

• 4-2 in month of March

  • Wins over Pistons, Hornets, Wizards, and Nets

  • Own +1.9 Net Rating in that time- 10th in NBA

• Defense has been key to recent success

  • 107.5 Defensive Rating in last six games- 3rd in NBA

  • Opponents shooting 45.5% overall and 31.5% from three in that six-game span while averaging 100.7 points per game

• Injuries- No players on injury report

Toronto Raptors

• Enter tonight on five-game losing streak

  • Losses to Pelicans, Suns, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, and Pistons

  • -73 point differential in that time

• Have been horrible on both ends of floor during losing streak

  • Own -14.7 Net Rating in last five games- worst in NBA

  • Offensive Rating sits at 106.0 (28th), Defensive Rating sits at 120.7 (27th)

  • Surrendering 125.0 points per game- most in NBA

• Injuries- Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Chris Boucher, and Jakob Poeltl are OUT, Gary Trent Jr. is questionable

What’s the Play?

The injury bug has infiltrated the Raptors’ locker room, a big reason for this five-game losing streak. Unfortunately for Toronto, it won’t be any healthier tonight, and we agree with our model that this is a good spot to back the Magic.

The Raptors simply don’t have the depth on either end of the floor to make up for the various absences they have. Being without Barnes, Barrett, Poeltl, and potentially Trent Jr. means Toronto could be without four of its top-six scorers, and all of those guys play a huge role defensively for this sqaud.

Meanwhile, Orlando is fully healthy and is trending in an upward direction. Its hasn’t always been pretty for the Magic on the road this season, but this is a spot that we feel comfortable backing them.

The Play: Magic -7.5 (-105)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Orlando Magic- 38-28 overall this season, 7-3 in last ten games

• New Orleans Pelicans- 39-26 overall this season, 18-13 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• San Antonio Spurs- Over is 16-14 as the home team this season

• Utah Jazz- Over is 36-28-1 this season, highest win percentage in NBA

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Orlando Magic- 43-23 against the spread (ATS) this season, highest win percentage in NBA

🤕 Ben Simmons undergoes another back surgery. Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons had a microsurgery to partially remove a disc to ease a nerve issue in his back, following his season-ending injury. This is his second discectomy since joining the team, and he's expected to recover fully by next season's training camp. Simmons, who has struggled with back problems, played only 15 games this season, averaging 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, shooting 58.1% from the field, and has one more year on his $40 million contract.

✍️ 76ers plan to sign Kai Jones to 10-day deal. The Philadelphia 76ers are set to sign Kai Jones to a 10-day contract. Jones, a 6-foot-11 center, was released by the Charlotte Hornets in October due to "personal reasons" after he made controversial statements on social media, including claims of being superior to his teammates. Despite his limited impact in the NBA so far, Jones, who was selected 19th overall after two seasons at Texas, showed promise by earning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors as a sophomore. Recently, he represented the Bahamian national team, averaging 13.5 points and eight rebounds per game in two FIBA AmeriCup qualifier games.

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 led the NFL in receiving yards during the 2005 season, recording 1,563 in total?

Question #2- Rob Gronkowski and Nick Foles played college football at what Pac 12 school?

Question #3- Babe Ruth played for what MLB team prior to his stint with the New York Yankees?

Anyone know what has happened on March 15th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On March 15th…

1962- Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first player in NBA history to score 4,000 points in a single season. Chamberlain is only one of two players to ever score more than 3,00 points in a season, doing it three times in his career. He is still the only player to reach the 4,000 point milestone, and would end his career with 31,419 points.

1988- The NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals relocate to Phoenix, Arizona. The new team was known as the Phoenix Cardinals for the first several seasons, then changing to the present-day name of Arizona Cardinals in 1994. The Cardinals spent nearly three decades in St. Louis from 1960-87, and prior to that played in Chicago from 1920-1959.

1997- Pittsburgh Penguins star Joe Mullen becomes the first American-born player to score 500 career NHL goals. Mullen’s goal came in the second period and gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead over the Colorado Avalanche, but Colorado would spoil the milestone and win 6-3. Mullen would end his career with 502 goals, which currently ranks 46th on the NHL’s all-time list.

1. Steve Smith Sr.

2. University of Arizona

3. Boston Red Sox