Tuesday's Best WNBA Bets
Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty (-5, 161)
Getting star guard Seimone Augustus back in the lineup has given the Minnesota Lynx a much-needed shot in the arm. The team is 2-2 since the WNBA veteran returned from an abdominal injury last week – and an even better 3-1 against the spread.
Augustus dropped in 16 points in the Lynx’s 92-78 victory over the Tulsa Shock as 1.5-point road underdogs Saturday. She’s averaging 18 points in her first four games back and has Minnesota on a two-game winning run heading into Tuesday’s outing in New York.
"I just felt like I had a lot of bounce in my legs," Augustus told reporters after taking the first of two wins over Tulsa this week. "It was a great flow, unlike the Phoenix game and the L.A. game. You could tell that plays were broken, and we were going one-on-one and not really trusting each other. Tonight, you could see that we made the extra passes and people got into their sweet spots to make shots."
The Lynx got a solid overall effort in Saturday’s win, with four players in double figures and 19 points coming off the bench. New York and Minnesota have split their last four meetings over the past two seasons but have yet to play in 2010. The Liberty are currently stuck in a two-game skid and have won just twice in their past six contests.
Pick: Minnesota
Chicago Sky at Connecticut Sun (-8, 153)
After some shaky moments on the road last week, the Connecticut Sun are back inside Mohegan Sun Arena, where things have been going according to plan this year.
Connecticut is a stellar 6-0 at home this season, including a perfect 6-0 mark against the spread as host. The Sun haven’t played in Hartford since knocking off the Indiana Fever, 86-77 as 2.5-point favorites, on June 11.
Connecticut is riding high after beating the Phoenix Mercury in Phoenix for the first time in five years Sunday. The Sun hung on for a 96-94 victory as 5-point road underdogs despite blowing a 21-point lead in the second half.
"It was a typical game between our two teams," coach Mike Thibault told reporters. "We knew they were going to make a run at some point. I thought we played great for almost three quarters, then we went on a bad stretch and we didn't talk real well on defense for a few possessions and they made some big shots."
The Sun have one of the top-ranked defenses in the WNBA, giving up just 75.5 points per game. That number shrinks at home, allowing visiting teams to score just under 70 points a contest. Connecticut opened the 2010 schedule with a 74-61 win over the Sky at home, covering as a 2.5-point favorite. Chicago is currently on a four-game slide heading into Tuesday.
Pick: Connecticut
CHICAGO vs. CONNECTICUT
Chicago is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Chicago is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Connecticut is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
MINNESOTA vs. NEW YORK
Minnesota is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games
Minnesota is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing New York
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
CHICAGO (4 - 8) at CONNECTICUT (8 - 3)
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in home games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 51-32 ATS (+15.8 Units) in June games since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in home games after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 13-25 ATS (-14.5 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 4-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 5-3 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
TULSA (3 - 8) at ATLANTA (9 - 4)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 4-4 against the spread versus TULSA over the last 3 seasons
TULSA is 6-3 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons