In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of predictions to go around yesterday across the NHL and MLB, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions and making it a 3-star Play. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how each of the models performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 0-0

Over/Under Predictions: 0-0

Spread Predictions: 0-0

3-star Predictions: 0-0

Money Line Predictions: 1-0

Over/Under Predictions: 0-1

Puck Line Predictions: 1-0

3-star Predictions: 0-0

Money Line Predictions: 6-4

Over/Under Predictions: 6-4

Run Line Predictions: 6-4

3-star Predictions: 1-0

Four teams remain the NBA playoffs, meaning that we will likely have one game a day for the significant future. Today’s matchup is between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, the No.7 and No.1 seeds, respectively, in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

Model Predicts- Nuggets ML, OVER 222.5 , Nuggets -6

The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are the two remaining teams in the Western Conference, facing off in Game 1 of the conference finals on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles entered the postseason as the No.7 seed in the West, but looks far better than that number would indicate. The Lake Show took down the Grizzlies in Round 1 and the defending NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, in Round 2.

Denver is the No.1 seed in the West, and has coasted through the postseason up to this point. The Nuggets took down the Timberwolves in five games in Round 1, followed by a 4-2 series victory over the Suns in Round 2.

Both teams have looked rather impressive this postseason, but our model gives a pretty significant edge to the Nuggets here. Will we see the Nuggets back up that prediction, or can the Lakers continue their stellar run and pick up a win on the road?

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves back in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the infamous NBA Bubble of 2020. It has been a rough few years for LA since then, but the Lake Show is just four wins away from getting back to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers find themselves in this position mainly because of their stellar play on the defensive end. Per NBA.com Los Angeles owns a 106.5 Defensive Rating across 12 postseason matchups, the best rating among the 16 playoff teams in 2023.

That rating has resulted from the Lakers’ length on the perimeter, holding opponents to shooting an abysmal 33.4% from three in the postseason. Los Angeles has also made tremendous improvements inside, holding opponents to 46.7 points per game in the paint, down from 52.8 in the regular season.

However, many of those postseason numbers are skewed by the Lakers’ performance at home. This team has been far from effective on the road.

Los Angeles is just 2-4 this postseason as the away team, seeing its Defensive Rating spike to 114.8. Opponents are shooting 38.4% from three across those six matchups while the Lakers have only shot 31.4%. That is the most glaring hole in this Lakers offense, and it could certainly pose some problems in this series.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have been a problem all season long, but this team has caused even more problems for every team that has come into the Mile High City.

Denver went 34-7 on its home court this season, the second best record in the NBA behind the Memphis Grizzlies. That record was due to unbelievable levels of production both ends of the floor, leading to a +9.6 Net Rating, per NBA.com.

The home-court dominance has carried over into the postseason, where Denver is a perfect 6-0 since the playoffs began. The Nuggets have seen their Net Rating jump to +13.9 in those six matchups, proving that they have one of the larger home court advantages in all of sports.

Defense and three-point shooting has been the name of the game Denver at home. The Nuggets own the third best Home Defensive Rating this postseason at 104.9, complimenting that with shooting a blazing 39.8% from behind the arc.

This team is elite on both ends at home, and the Nuggets look more comfortable than ever in front of their home crowd.

What’s the Play?

Our model gives a significant advantage to the Nuggets here. We were close to making the Nuggets -6 a 3-star play, but after further analysis we decided that the best play for this matchup is the over.

Los Angeles has been pitiful on the road in the postseason, but both of its road wins have come in Game 1 of the series. The Lakers beat the Grizzlies 128-112 in Game 1 of Round 1, then defeated Golden State 117-112 in Game 1 of Round 2.

The three-pointer and free throws made the difference in both matchups, with LA shooting 35.5% from three and posting a +23 free throw attempt differential. Having a few days off has proven to refresh the Lakers, and combining that with their ability to get to the charity stripe sets up the opportunity for a ton of points.

We’re willing to take the risk and back the Lakers’ Game 1 offense to remain hot, and Denver should have no problems scoring against a weak LA road defense. Back the over here.

3-star play: Over 222.5 (-110)

Money Line Trends💰

• Los Angeles Lakers- 8-4 overall in postseason, 2-4 as the away team

• Denver Nuggets- 8-3 overall in postseason, 6-0 as the home team

Over/Under Trends↕️

• Los Angeles Lakers- Over is 6-6 overall in postseason, 4-2 as the away team with average total of 222.33. 3-0 in last three road games with average total of 227.67.

• Denver Nuggets- Over is 6-5 overall in postseason, 2-4 as the home team with average total of 213.5

Spread Trends➕➖

• Los Angeles Lakers- 8-4 against the spread (ATS) in postseason, 2-4 ATS as the away team

• Denver Nuggets- 7-4 ATS in postseason, 5-1 ATS as the home team with an average margin of victory of 14.17 points

Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

• Los Angeles Lakers

  • LeBron James (Game Time Decision), Anthony Davis (Game Time Decision), Mo Bamba (OUT)

• Denver Nuggets

  • Jamal Murray (Game Time Decision), Collin Gillespie (OUT)

🔥 Multiple teams already in hot pursuit of Monty Williams. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but several NBA teams have already been tabbed as throwing their hat in the ring in the race for former Suns head coach Monty Williams. It’s being reported that the Bucks, Raptors, and Pistons are the early teams that are interested in making Williams their new bench boss. Williams is a one-time Coach of the Year award winner and led Phoenix to the NBA Finals in 2021 after posting a 64-18 record in the regular season.

😳 Joel Embiid in some hot water after questionable comments. Joel Embiid has never been one to hold back, but some are questioning the MVP’s remarks following a Game 7 loss to Boston on Sunday. After the game Embiid said that him and James Harden “can’t win alone”, and that “everyone needs to find ways to get better”. Embiid and Harden combined for 24 points in Game 7, while Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and PJ Tucker combined for 47 points to round out the starting lineup.

⭐️ Dallas wins Game 7, advances to Western Conference Final. The series between the Seattle Kraken and Dallas Stars was one of the best we’ve seen this postseason, ending last night with 2-1 victory for Dallas. Roope Hintz and rookie Wyatt Johnson scored the goals for Dallas, while Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the lone goal for Seattle. Dallas will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals, with Game 1 happening some time later this week.

🎤🐶 Will Snoop Dog be a part-owner of the Senators? What can’t this man do? It is being reported that four groups remain in the race to purchase the Ottawa Senators, and Snoop Dog is a piece of one. Neko Sparks, an entrepreneur and producer, is leading the charge, looking to become the first African-American owner in the NHL’s history. Actor Ryan Reynolds was also in the running with another bidder, but that group dropped out of the race.

📞 Penguins conducting interviews for GM position. The search for a new GM has begun after the Pittsburgh Penguins fired GM Ron Hextall in April. Per Pierre LeBrun, Pittsburgh is expected to interview at least 10 candidates for the position, which includes Marc Bergevin, Peter Chiarelli, Jason Karmanos, and Eric Tulsky, all of which have several years of front office experience.

There are 15 games scheduled to take place on this fine Tuesday. However, due to some gaps in the early season data, our model has predictions for ten of today’s matchups.

There are no 3-star plays in the MLB today.

Money Line Trends💰

• Toronto Blue Jays- 24-17 overall, 12-4 as the home team

• Minnesota Twins- 23-19 overall, 3-1 when Bailey Ober is the starting pitcher

• Washington Nationals- 10-9 overall as a road underdog, 5-5 against NL East opponents (Play NL East rival Miami today)

Over/Under Trends↕️

• Oakland Athletics- Over is 26-15-2 this season, second highest win percentage in MLB

• Chicago White Sox- Over is 21-18-3 this season, 11-7-1 as the home team

• Seattle Mariners- Under is 21-19-1 this season, 11-8 as the away team

Run Line Trends➕➖

• Arizona Diamondbacks- Run line is 24-18 overall, 12-6 as the away team

• Seattle Mariners- Run line is 22-19 overall, 13-6 as the away team, 5-5 as an away favorite

Various injuries around the league. See full injury report at MLB.com

🏠🏃‍♂️ Cal Raleigh goes yard TWICE in Boston. Baseballs were flying over fences in every ballpark last night, but Cal Raleigh was one of the few guys to hit multiple home runs. Raleigh first went yard in the top of the fifth inning, a two-run home run over the short right-field wall at Fenway Park. He followed that up with another two-run home run in the seventh inning, but this time it went over the Green Monster. To make it more impressive, he hit the first home run left-handed and the second one right-handed. Seattle would go on to blow out Boston 10-1.

⚾️ Shohei Ohtani pitches a gem AND has a great night at the plate. Shohei Ohtani has already established himself as one of the greatest two-way players in MLB history, and that greatness was on full display last night. Ohtani struggled a bit on the mound, allowing five earned runs in seven innings, but he backed that performance up by going 4/5 at the plate with one home run, three RBI’s and three runs scored in a 9-5 victory over the Orioles. Ohtani is now 5-1 on the season and the Angels are 22-20 overall.

❌ Michael Wacha almost throws no-hitter. No-hitters don’t come around very often, so when a pitcher gets through seven innings without allowing a hit the entire baseball world gets notified. Turns out that notification blast was a massive jinx for Padres pitcher Michael Wacha, who had a no-hitter through seven innings but allowed the first hit of the night in the top of the eighth. Wacha was pulled from the game immediately afterwards as he was above the 100 pitch mark, but not before he tallied 11 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory.

🎤 Matt Ryan joins CBS. Former Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan will reportedly join CBS Sports as an NFL analyst. Ryan’s role will supposedly allow him to be a studio and game analyst, so we could even see Ryan in the booth this coming fall. However, Ryan made sure to stress that he is still available to play football and has not retired.

💰 Is an extension on the way for Cameron Jordan? Cam Jordan and the New Orleans Saints are reportedly in discussions regarding an extension for the pass rusher. The timing of the extension has yet to be announced, but Jordan’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, has said that an extension of at least two years has been discussed. Jordan has played his entire career as a member oft he New Orleans Saints, torturing opposing offensive linemen in that time as he tallied a franchise record 115.5 sacks and counting in his 12-year NFL career.

🐶 The Georgia Bulldogs just keep getting better. Dylan Raiola, the No.1 overall recruit in the class of 2024, has announced that he will be attending the University of Georgia. Raiola was originally committed to Ohio State but later decided to keep his recruitment open. Georgia now owns the top recruiting class in 2024, with eight prospects ranking inside the top 100.

🟦 ⬜️ Jeremy Roach returning to Duke. After declaring for the NBA Draft a short time ago, Jeremy Roach has announced that he will be returning to Duke for the 2023-24 season. Roach was Duke’s second-leading scored last night, averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 42.6% from the floor overall and 34.3% from behind the arc.

Today’s trivia is going to be a little different than what you would normally see. We’re going to list several sports figures, and we want you to guess what college/university they went to.

1. Odell Beckham Jr., Shaquille O’Neal, Ben Simmons

2. Matt Ryan, Johnny Gaudreau, Jared Dudley

3. Tiger Woods, Richard Sherman, Andrew Luck

4. Wilt Chamberlain, Joel Embiid, Paul Pierce

5. LaDainian Tomlinson, Andy Dalton, Jalen Reagor

6. Chris Bosh, Calvin Johnson, Josh Okogie

Anyone know what has happened on May 16th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On May 16th…

1928- Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin is born in Berkeley, California. Martin was a one-time All-Star in his career and won the World Series five times, four as a player and once as a manager.

1984- Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton hits a grand slam in a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Carlton was mostly know for his dominance on the mound, but home runs were surprisingly not all that rare for him when compared to his pitching counterparts. Carlton ended his career with 13 homers in 1,710 at-bats, and still ranks fourth on the all-time strikeouts list for pitchers with 4,136.

1985- NBA legend Michael Jordan wins the Rookie of the Year, the first of many awards the he would receive in his career. Jordan was selected third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft out of the University of North Carolina by the Chicago Bulls, the team he would go on to win six championships with. Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 82 games during his rookie season.

1996- Sammy Sosa becomes the first Chicago Cubs player ever to hit two home runs in the same inning in a 13-1 rout of the Houston Astros. The home runs were hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, the same innings where. theCubs scored eight runs.

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1. Louisiana State University

2. Boston College

3. Stanford University

4. University of Kansas

5. Texas Christian University

6. Georgia Tech