What's worse, too many entities or too many tables?
The number of entities is driven by the functional specs on the database.  You discover entities by analyzing the subject matter.  This is different from inventing entities because it feels good.  You determine whether any given subject matter entity is relevant to the database by looking at the scope of the database, per the requirements.

The number of tables is driven by the database design.  You create tables as needed to fulfill the design goals.  You are typically pursuing multiple goals:  normalization, simplicity, flexibility, and speed, among others.  Typically each entity will have a table of its own, and there will be extra tables for relationships that are not simple enough to just add FKs to existing tables.

The difference between analysis and design is crucial to all projects beyond simple exercises.