Last night, Chicago screwed me once again by pissing away a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter for the second time in three days.The Sky have made it difficult for me to trust, or love, ever again.
Seattle O’Sullivan so far: 6-4
Atlanta Dream at Minnesota Lynx, 8 pm EDT
The Pick: Atlanta +6.5 (-115), Under 161.5 (-114)
Both teams should be well-rested tonight, which indicates a close game. Atlanta has won four in a row and is 3-0 on the road. The Dream scores almost 9 more ppg than the Lynx (84.7 vs. 75.8), and forces 19 TOs per game, but with a 4-2 record their point differential is only +0.2. Two of Minnesota’s losses are against Seattle, and they just beat the Sun in OT for their first victory. That should be enough confidence for a win, but all of this tells me it will be close. I’ll take the points. and the under in a tight battle.
Dallas Wings at Seattle Storm, 10 pm EDT
The Pick: Seattle ML -590, Seattle -9.5 (-115)
Tonight’s matchup is part of the Commissioner’s Cup, an ongoing in-season tournament where the teams compete for part of a $500,000 prize. That means no one for either the Storm or the Wings will be messing around tonight. However, for Seattle, “not messing around” means something else entirely than it does for the rest of the WNBA. Winners of five in a row, and owners of a 4-1 home record, the Storm currently score the most points per game in the league, record the most assists per game (21.9) and are second in 3pt. % (41.4). Dallas might not “mess around,” but they tend to let the opponents do that. The Wings give up the second-most points per game (86.3) and the third-most rebounds (35). Looking at the point differential, one might think the Wings play close games, but that stat is deceptive. In their two wins, Dallas has only beaten the under-womanned Los Angeles Sparks. The Storm have too much firepower, and with what’s at stake, no way Seattle lets up here. Again, put a little more on the money line if you want to hedge against this many points.