In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter presented by SportSense Premium…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

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There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NBA, 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: 2-0

Over/Under Predictions: 1-1

Spread Predictions: 1-1

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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One NBA game is scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for that matchup can be found below.

Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks

Model Predicts- Knicks ML, OVER 222.5, Pacers +4.5

The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will continue their quest for an NBA title on Wednesday night, squaring off in Madison Square Garden for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

New York got the best of Indiana in Game 1 earlier this week, rallying late to secure a 121-117 win. The victory brought New York’s postseason record to 5-2, while the loss made Indiana 4-3 through seven postseason games.

Game 1 between these teams was a back-and-forth affair all night long, and our model projects the Knicks to secure another victory in another tightly contested match. Let’s dive into why that is.

Indiana Pacers

• May have lost Game 1, but still played great basketball

  • Fifth time in six postseason games scoring at least 117 points

  • Shot 52% overall and 38% from three. Did tons of damage inside (64 points in paint)

• Top-tier offense will continue to keep Pacers in many games

  • Finished with 120.5 Offensive Rating in regular season (2nd in NBA). Has only declined slightly to 119.4 in postseason

  • Depth is key piece to puzzle- Led NBA in bench points per game (46.8) in reg. season. Rank 1st amongst playoff teams in bench points per game (32.9)

• Injuries- Benedict Mathurin is OUT, Tyrese Haliburton is questionable

New York Knicks

• Carried momentum from Round 1 into Round 2

  • Shot lights out in Game 1- 54% overall and 48% from three

  • Led by Jalen Brunson- 43 points in Game 1. Fifth consecutive game with 39+ points

• Defense is slowly starting to become an issue

  • Own 117.3 Defensive Rating in playoffs- Ranks 12th out of 16 teams

  • Particularly vulnerable on the perimeter- Opponents shooting 37.9% from three in playoffs (3rd highest percentage)

• Injuries-Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, Mitchell Robinson, Charlie Brown, and Duane Washington are OUT

What’s the Play?

New York continues to escape with wins, but several factors leave the Knicks vulnerable on a nightly basis. As a result, we’ll back the Pacers to cover the spread tonight.

One major issue New York faces is its lack of depth. The Knicks scored just three bench points in Game 1 against the Pacers, while Indiana scored 46 points off the bench. Even more concerning is the Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 76% of New York’s points in Game 1 and has now accounted for 62.1% of New York points in the postseason, splits that are far from sustainable in the long run to continuously wins games.

Additionally, the Knicks have yet to show much promise defensively in the playoffs, a big reason why Indiana was able to hang around and even produce a nine-point lead in Game 1. The Pacers have all the tools to do so again while facing a Knicks team due for regression, so we feel taking Indiana here is the best play.

The Play: Pacers +4.5 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• New York Knicks- 55-34 overall this season, 5-2 in the postseason

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Indiana Pacers- Over is 5-2 in postseason with average total of 225.29

• New York Knicks- Over is 5-2 in postseason with average total of 219.57

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Indiana Pacers- 48-29-3 against the spread (ATS) this season, 24-15-2 ATS as an underdog, and 4-3 ATS in postseason

💪 Thunder take down Mavericks in Game 1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series, recording 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Luka Doncic struggled, scoring 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting with five turnovers, prompting him to express frustration and a need to improve for the next game. Despite being outrebounded, the Thunder's strong defensive effort, led by Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren, limited the Mavericks to 39.3% shooting and en route to a comfortable win.

🏆 Gobert wins DPOY for record-tying fourth time. Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, tying the NBA record. Gobert received 72 first-place votes and a total of 433 points, ahead of Victor Wembanyama and Bam Adebayo. His defensive prowess was evident throughout the Timberwolves' season, where he averaged 2.1 blocks and 9.2 defensive rebounds, anchoring the team's defense to allow the fewest points per 100 possessions in the league.

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- Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, two of which have the same first name. Who are those players?

Question #2- Former NBA player Roy Hibbert was a two-time All-Star while playing for what Eastern Conference team?

Question #3- Current broadcaster Cris Collinsworth played wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1981-88. How many time did he record 1,000 receiving yards in that span?

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

On May 8th…

1984- Kirby Puckett makes his debut for the Minnesota Twins. Puckett came out of the gates red hot to begin his Twins career, recording four singles in the game. He would go on to suit up for Minnesota for the entirety of his MLB career, winning two World Series championships and being named an All-Star ten times.

2014- South Carolina linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is selected with the No.1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Clowney was selected by the Houston Texans, a result of being named an All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year during his final two collegiate seasons. He would play for the Texans until 2018, and has also suited up for the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens.

2021- Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton throws a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It took Paxton just 99 pitches to record 27 outs, recording seven strikeouts and three walks along the way. Paxton became the second Canadian-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter, and the first to do so on Canadian soil.

1. Josh Allen, Josh Rosen

2. Roy Hibbert

3. Four