Sunday's best WNBA bets
By Covers.com
Indiana Fever at Washington Mystics (+1.5, 149)
The Fever are starting to heat up again. After dropping two of three in the middle of July, Indiana looks more like the team that rattled off a franchise-record 11-game win streak earlier this year, and less like the squad that was drilled by 19 at San Antonio last month.
The Fever have won two straight, including an 85-81 win over the Mystics on July 28. In the victory, Indiana forced 20 turnovers, shot an absurd, 47.4 percent from beyond-the-arc and made 28-of-36 free throws. The Fever were paced by guard Katie Douglas, who dropped a career-high 34 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor.
"It was like, 'I refuse to lose,'" Fever coach Lin Dunn said. “Thank goodness we have some players with that type of mentality. And it's contagious. She puts her head down and says, 'I'm going to the rim. You can't stop me.' "
Meantime, the Mystics have split their past two.
Pick: Fever
Connecticut Sun at Detroit Shock (-5, 149)
Good news for any fans watching this game – they are all but guaranteed to see some bonus basketball.
Each of the team’s two previous meetings this year went to overtime with the teams splitting the games by just a field goal difference each time. As would be expected, both contests easily topped the total, even though the Shock and Sun both are in the top eight in points allowed per game.
Overall, eight of Detroit’s past 10 games have surpassed the total.
The x-factor in the meetings was the play of Sun forward Sandrine Gruda, one of the best young centers in the league. In her team’s win, she scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. In the loss, she failed to score before fouling out with just three rebounds.
Gruda is averaging 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and is coming off a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in her most recent outing. Look for her to build on her effort in a tight, high-scoring affair.
Pick: Over
INDIANA (14 - 4) at WASHINGTON (10 - 8)
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 68-96 ATS (-37.6 Units) in road games since 1997.
INDIANA is 37-62 ATS (-31.2 Units) in road games after a division game since 1997.
INDIANA is 2-13 ATS (-12.3 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1997.
INDIANA is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
INDIANA is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 170-215 ATS (-66.5 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 103-136 ATS (-46.6 Units) as an underdog since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 8-17 ATS (-10.7 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 26-46 ATS (-24.6 Units) off an upset win as an underdog since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 6-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 8-1 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT (9 - 8) at DETROIT (6 - 9)
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 12-22 ATS (-12.2 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 74-48 ATS (+21.2 Units) in road games since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 24-11 ATS (+11.9 Units) in road games in August or September games since 1997.
DETROIT is 1-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
DETROIT is 5-14 ATS (-10.4 Units) in home games after a non-conference game over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 5-4 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 7-2 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons