Value on San Antonio as Road Favorite

In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️ 

NHL Model Predictions- Click Here

NCAAB 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: 3-2

Over/Under Predictions: 3-2

Puck Line Predictions: 4-1

Featured Matchup: 1-0

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

San Antonio Spurs @ Chicago Bulls

Model Predicts- Spurs ML, UNDER 236, Spurs -3

The San Antonio Spurs will begin a four-game road trip on Monday, with the first stop coming in Chicago, Illinois to battle an Eastern Conference foe in the Chicago Bulls.

San Antonio enters this matchup fresh off a home-away split with the Denver Nuggets, one that saw the Spurs post a 1-1 record. Those results have brought the Spurs’ record to 18-17 this season, while Chicago owns a 16-19 record following a stellar win over the New York Knicks on Saturday.

San Antonio is a slight three-point favorite here, but our model projects the Spurs to win this game by more than four-points. Let’s dive into why that is.

San Antonio Spurs

• Enter today off loss to Nuggets on Saturday

  • Lost game 122-111 in overtime. Outscored 41-19 across fourth quarter and overtime

  • Poor shooting efficiency led to loss- shot 39% overall and 27% from three

• Defense has been incredibly strong in recent contests

  • Have posted 104.2 Defensive Rating across last five games- ranks 2nd in NBA and is down from 111.9 for entire season

  • Opponents shooting 40.9% overall in same five-game span

• Majority of key players off injury report

  • Jeremy Sochan removed from injury report. David Duke remains as only player listed as OUT

Chicago Bulls

• Enter today off win over Knicks on Saturday

  • Won game 139-126. Scored 63 points in first half and 76 points in second half

  • Elite shooting was too much for Knicks to overcome- Shot 54% overall, 54% from three, and 94% from free throw line

• Defense has come out of the gates rusty in January

  • Surrendering 125.5 points/game over last two games. Own 116.2 Defensive Rating in that span

  • Defense inside is largest weakness- opponents averaging 64.0 points/game in the paint

• Two key rotation players set to be absent for tonight

  • Ayo Dosunmu and Torrey Craig announced as OUT

What’s the Play?

Chicago is coming off an impressive performance against the New York Knicks on Saturday, but we agree with our model to back the Spurs on the spread as a road favorite here.

Chicago’s struggles in defending the paint are a massive concern in this matchup, as San Antonio has dominated on the inside over the course of the last several games. Per TeamRankings, the Spurs are averaging 54.7 points per game in the paint across the last three contests, which ranks 5th in the NBA and is up from 44.7 from the season. That area of the floor isn’t the Spurs’s strongest area, but the Bulls’ inability to defend that portion of the floor gives San Antonio a great chance to stay hot.

Additionally, the key to San Antonio’s strong defensive play has been perimeter defense, as the Spurs are holding opponents to shooting 29.4% from three over the last five games. That will likely take away Chicago’s go-to method of scoring, as the Bulls average 44.1 three-point attempts this season (2nd in NBA).

Our model projects a four-point win for the Spurs tonight, giving us some room to back them at -3.

The Play: Spurs -3 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Philadelphia 76ers- 14-19 overall this season, 7-3 in last ten games

• Minnesota Timberwolves- 17-17 overall this season, 9-7 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Milwaukee Bucks- Under is 20-14 this season, 8-7 as the away team

• Memphis Grizzlies- Over is 23-13 this season, 10-8 as the home team

Spread Trends ➕➖

• San Antonio Spurs- 19-16 against the spread (ATS) this season, 9-6 ATS as the away team

• Los Angeles Clippers- 2-14 ATS this season, 9-8 ATS as the away team

🔟 Cavaliers take down Hornets for 10th straight win. The Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 115-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, led by Darius Garland's 25 points and Jarrett Allen's double-double. The Cavaliers, who have won 18 of their last 19 home games and boast a 31-4 overall record, set a franchise record by winning all 10 games in their streak by double digits. Meanwhile, Charlotte, paced by LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller with 24 points each, suffered its 10th consecutive loss, dropping to 1-18 since late November.

🤕 Kuminga out three weeks with ankle injury. Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga suffered an ankle sprain during Saturday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies and is expected to miss at least three weeks. Kuminga, who had been playing some of the best basketball of his career with 16.9 points per game, sustained the injury in the first half and was ruled out after recording 13 points in 15 minutes. The Warriors, also missing Steph Curry due to knee injury management, improved to 18-16 and are set to face the Sacramento Kings next.

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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- What team did Geno Smith play for prior to his current stint with the Seattle Seahawks?

Question #2- Two active NBA players played college basketball in the Atlantic Sun Conference. One of those players is Garrison Matthews, but who is the other?

Question #3- Two UCLA pitchers were selected in the top-three of the 2011 MLB Draft. One player is Gerrit Cole, but who is the other?

Anyone know what has happened on January 6th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 6th…

1995- Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkins wins his 939th career game. The win made Wilkins the winningest coach in NBA history, passing Red Auerbach on the all-time list. Wilkins would end his coaching career with 1,332 wins, which currently ranks third in NBA history behind Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson.

1998- Don Sutton is selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sutton began his legendary career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966, and would also suit up for the Astros, Brewers, Athletics, and Angels. He would end his career with a stellar 3.26 ERA and 3,574 strikeouts, the latter of which ranks 7th in MLB history.

2014- The Florida State Seminoles defeat the Auburn Tigers in the BCS National Championship game. Florida State won the game 34-31, taking the lead with just 13 seconds left in the game after a touchdown from wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin. Jameis Winston, who threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns, was named offensive MVP for the game.

1. Los Angeles Chargers

2. Torrey Craig

3. Trevor Bauer

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