The Money Line: WNBA odds, predictions for Sunday, July 9
Dallas Wings (PK, -110)
Atlanta Dream (PK, -110)
Total: 163
A battle between two teams that I have no feel for whatsoever; what a dream. Dallas is a team who has proven themselves to be extremely capable on offense at time, though their defense has been a season long struggle. The Wings have actually done well lately, winning five of their last six, and their game was a 94-84 victory over this very Atlanta team. In that game, Dallas got 21 points Skylar Diggins-Smith and 20 from the likely Rookie of the Year Allisha Gray.
As a whole, Dallas had a defensive rating of 94.4 in the game, a big improvement of their season average of 102.3. The defensive rating of the Wings this season is second worst in the league; in contrast, their offensive rating is sixth best which helps explain a bit why their offense has to be so good in order to win games. Dallas also owns the third lowest FG% and second lowest 3pt% in the league, but regardless, when they get hot they are a dangerous team.
The Dream were one of the hottest team’s in the league coming out of the blocks but after a lengthy losing streak, they have alternated wins and loses for the past four games. Simply put, Atlanta is a nightmare to play against offensively. The Dream own the second best defensive rating in the entire league while also causing their opponents to have the second worst turnover percentage, though its tops in the Eastern Conference.
Tiffany Hayes deserves to be in the All-Star game and could make the claim that she deserves to start, while the rookie out of Syracuse, Brittney Sykes, has been coming on strong as of late. Atlanta struggles so much offensively as Hayes is the only consistent player for them on that end of the court. If Sykes stays on track and continues to score the ball like she has over the last four games, it could go a long way for the Dream’s playoff chances.
Our second pick ’em game this week, you really have to split hairs in this one. It will very likely come down to which team’s strength wins out: Dallas’ offense or Atlanta’s defense. In a game that could go either way, I’ll ride with the better offensive team in the Wings and the under.