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The Money Line: How teams are doing against the spread

By Blake DuDonis

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 5: Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury speaks to her teammates in a huddle during the game against the New York Liberty on June 5, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 5: Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury speaks to her teammates in a huddle during the game against the New York Liberty on June 5, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 3: Maya Moore #23 of the Minnesota Lynx stands during the National Anthem before the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 3, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 3: Maya Moore #23 of the Minnesota Lynx stands during the National Anthem before the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 3, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Raise your hand if you had the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty being a combined 4-8 after the first full week in June. Yeah, put your hand down you liar. It’s been an interesting season to say the least over the first few weeks and that is reflected in team’s performances in relation to the spreads.

While wins and losses are obviously what the teams are concerned about, if you are putting any money down on these games, the spread info is what you need. With the season roughly a quarter of the way through, here is an update on how teams are performing against the spread.

Favorites not taking care of business

While being declared the favorite by Vegas is nice, it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t win by as much as you’re suppose to. Take the Lynx for example: in their seven games this season, they were the favorite in six of them. Their record in terms of covering as a favorite? 0-6. In fact, Minnesota has yet to cover in any game so far this season so not only are their fans concerned, so is anyone backing them with their wallets. As of today, here is how the teams stack up as a favorite (reminder that these are their records in terms of covering the spread. It has nothing to do with if they won or lost the game):

Connecticut: 4-2
Los Angles: 3-0
Dallas: 2-0
New York: 2-2
Seattle: 2-3
Atlanta: 1-2
Phoenix: 1-2
Washington: 1-3
Chicago: 0-0-1 (a push with Vegas)
Indiana: 0-1
Minnesota: 0-6
Las Vegas: N/A

Favorites combined record: 16-21-1

Underdogs the smart play thus far

From the above information you obviously can see that the underdogs have been the smart money so far. We’ve especially seen teams that would be considered among the five or six best teams in the league (like Phoenix and Washington) being excellent picks when they are given points. The Mercury are 4-1 as underdogs while the Mystics are a comparable 3-1. Here are how teams have performed when being the underdog:

Phoenix: 4-1
Washington: 3-1
Chicago: 3-2
Atlanta: 2-1
Dallas: 2-2
Indiana: 2-3
Las Vegas: 2-3-1
New York: 1-0
Los Angles: 1-1
Seattle: 1-1
Minnesota: 0-1
Connecticut: N/A

Underdogs combined record: 21-16-1

Trends of note

In addition to just covering, it’s important to know the point range of the games that team’s are covering. So, to that point, I’ve tracked every team in how they have done as both a favorite and a underdog in the following ranges: 5 points or less, 5.5-9.5 and 10 or more. While I could write out how every team has done in those categories, it’s still a bit early as many team’s are around .500. The teams that aren’t, however, are noted below.

-Los Angles is 3-0 when they are a favorite by 5.5-9.5 points

-Phoenix is 3-0 when they are an underdog by 5 points or less

-Atlanta is 2-0 when they are an underdog by 5.5-9.5 points

-Dallas is 2-0 when they are a favorite by 5 points or less (the only two games they have been favorited in so far this season)

Many of these trends will flip on their heads as the season progresses but are all worth keeping an eye on (and considering) when placing bets on the WNBA.

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