Thursday's Best WNBA Bets
Connecticut Sun at Chicago Sky (-1, 155)
The Sun were able to get past the lowly Tulsa Shock despite injuries to key players Tuesday.
Connecticut was without starter Anete Jekabsone-Zogota in its backcourt versus Tulsa while fellow guard Tan White played 24 minutes and scored 16 points with a sprained thumb on her shooting hand.
Kara Lawson, Renee Montgomery and Allison Hightower are the only healthy guards on the roster and will get lots of run as the team’s six-game road run stretches over the next two weeks.
"Our two point guards (Lawson and Montgomery) are going to log some good minutes," head coach Mike Thibault told reporters before Tuesday’s game. "Allison is going to play more. (Forward) Kelsey Griffin may have to play some (off-guard). Kerri Gardin may have to play some.
"We're going to have to deal with what we've got to deal with."
Connecticut got big play from forward Tina Charles, who scored 16 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s 101-89 victory, covering as 5.5-point road favorites. However, that win came against the worst team in the WNBA.
Chicago has played tough basketball in recent outing. The Sky are just 6-9 on the year and 2-2 in their last four games, but have posted three ATS wins in that span to improve to 8-7 against the spread this season. They also defeated the Sun 86-77 just over a week ago, covering as 8-point road underdogs.
Pick: Chicago
San Antonio Silver Stars at Los Angeles Sparks (-2.5, 154)
Los Angeles knew it would struggle to get over the loss of All-Star forward Candace Parker after she went down for the season with a shoulder injury. However, the Sparks didn’t think it would get this bad.
Los Angeles was rocked by the New York Liberty, 80-68, at home this Tuesday, failing to cover as a 2.5-point home underdog. That loss was the team’s fourth straight defeat and marked the second time it has failed to cover as a pup since Parker went down.
“The loss of Candace is huge for us,” Sparks co-owner Kathy Goodman told the media.
“I have to say I think they've responded,” Goodman said. “Our real first game without her was Minnesota. Because they played the whole second half without her and they really pulled together. Our team was really together (against) Connecticut and Connecticut is in second place in the east.”
Despite the optimistic view and refusal to pack it in, Los Angeles has lost those last four games by an average of 9.5 points with their closest defeat being a three-point loss to the Sun on June 18.
The Silver Stars have been one of the best bets in the WNBA the past two weeks. San Antonio is 4-2 ATS in its last six outings and defeated the Sparks, 88-81 as a 1-point home favorite, in their first meeting back on May 22.
Pick: San Antonio
MINNESOTA vs. ATLANTA
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games
Atlanta is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Atlanta is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
CONNECTICUT vs. CHICAGO
Connecticut is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Connecticut is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Chicago is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games when playing Connecticut
WASHINGTON vs. PHOENIX
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
SAN ANTONIO vs. LOS ANGELES
San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
San Antonio is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Los Angeles is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
MINNESOTA (5 - 10) at ATLANTA (12 - 4)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 50-76 ATS (-33.6 Units) in July games since 1997.
MINNESOTA is 0-9 ATS (-9.9 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive road games since 1997.
MINNESOTA is 8-20 ATS (-14.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games since 1997.
ATLANTA is 30-18 ATS (+10.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in July games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) in May, June, or July games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 3-1 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 2-2 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT (10 - 5) at CHICAGO (6 - 9)
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) in road games after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 38-22 ATS (+13.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 5-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 5-4 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON (10 - 5) at PHOENIX (5 - 10)
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 187-230 ATS (-66.0 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 110-145 ATS (-49.5 Units) as an underdog since 1997.
PHOENIX is 131-98 ATS (+23.2 Units) in home games since 1997.
PHOENIX is 16-5 ATS (+10.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 21-10 ATS (+10.0 Units) in May, June, or July games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) against Western conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 3-2 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 3-2 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO (5 - 8) at LOS ANGELES (3 - 11)
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 33-15 ATS (+16.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 5-14 ATS (-10.4 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-5 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 7-5 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons