Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the first Wednesday slate of August.
Season picks (record): 11-15
Ladies and gentlemen, there are fewer than two weeks of basketball remaining in the WNBA’s regular season. With three playoff spots remaining and seeds 6-11 separated by 2.5 games, almost every upcoming game is important. Wednesday is no different.
Four of the teams on the playoff bubble have an opportunity to improve their chances with wins tonight.
Let’s take a look at the matchups and see if they can do just that.
All odds via Tipico Sportsbook
Los Angeles Sparks vs. New York Liberty (-7.5)
(Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)
This same Liberty-Sparks matchup just happened yesterday. New York put up some video game-type numbers on its special edition Xbox-themed court in a 29-point blowout win.
Today, the Liberty are back on the Xbox court, so should we expect similar results? The answer is yes. Although the Liberty have been underwhelming this season, so have the Sparks. For LA, things have gotten progressively worse as the season has rolled on.
The Sparks have lost 7 of 9 games and all but one has been by double figures. This pace-and-space Liberty offense is going to thrive against LA once again.
The Pick: Liberty -7.5
Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream (-9.5)
(Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)
The Fever’s playoff hopes have been out the window for quite a while now — their record is 5-27 on the season. They haven’t won a game since June 19th (a month and a half ago), and are currently on a 14-game losing streak. Their average margin of defeat during the losing streak is 15.4 points. Oh, and their best player, Kelsey Mitchell, is officially done for the year with an injury.
So, even though Atlanta is on a four-game slide, there’s no reason to expect the Dream won’t get back to their winning ways on Wednesday. This is essentially a must-win for Rhyne Howard and Co. as they fight for their playoff lives.
The Pick: Dream -9.5
Seattle Storm vs. Minnesota Lynx (-5.5)
If you’re strictly looking at the standings, you see a Storm team that has a playoff spot locked up, and a Lynx squad that is in 11th place. The Storm play this matchup at home, which theoretically makes it easier to pick them as the winner on Wednesday. But, honestly, this is a tough one for me.
Take the standings out of this and evaluate this matchup based on what’s taken place recently.
Seattle has lost four of six games (although all four losses have come on the road) and not looked particularly good. Meanwhile, Minnesota is the winner of two straight and is 6-4 over its last ten games.
With Cheryl Reeve calling the shots and Sylvia Fowles in her final season, it’s hard not to think that the Lynx won’t play out the remainder of these games as if it’s their last.
I don’t know if I can pick the Lynx, but I’ll take my chances on them covering the spread, which leaves the door open for a possible win.
The Pick: Lynx +5.5
