The WNBA is seeing an overwhelming increase in attention, be it via eyes or wallets. The season is still early, and teams are finding their own identity or simply picking up where they left off from last season. Some early trends have already been developing, including with one of the teams in today’s play of the day. As the WNBA season rolls along, make sure to check OddsShopper for the best WNBA bet of the day. You can follow every WNBA play from Eytan in his discord — he will even give you 50% off the first week!
WNBA Best Bet of the Day: Sparks Can Push the Tempo
Seattle is struggling. Despite Jewel Lloyd’s best efforts — she dropped 37 on the Sparks — the Storm fell to 0-4. Tuesday night sees a rematch but this time in Seattle. It will not help much; they can play this game on the moon, and it will not change how badly the Storm are playing. The Sparks took that game and should win the rematch, especially after fueling a late third quarter comeback. The Sparks have now won two straight, withstood eight 3-pointers from Lloyd and are only laying 3.5 points for a quick three-hour flight. What exactly is going to change for a Storm team that is dead last by a mile and has the league’s worst point differential at -15? Nothing, mainly due to Nneka Ogwumike.
The Sparks can get out and run, pushing tempo on Seattle, but it will be Ogwumike controlling the glass again — coming off a 14-board night. Los Angeles is too strong up front and can simply outscore most of Seattle’s runs by the end of the night. It is tough to count on the Storm’s bench, as the WNBA will push starter minutes more than NBA or even NCAA will, so just looking at the two team’s respective starting units, the Sparks should cruise. Laying anything less than 5 points seems like a tough bet to pass.
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It is not just the point differential that is killing Seattle; it also is how many points the opposition ends up scoring. Giving up over 94 points per game is unforgiveable in a league that rewards shooters. Despite having two of the top 30 players in the league — Lloyd and center Ezi Magbegor — it has not been enough for Seattle to overcome much. The Sparks do have anyone new on the injury list and are facing the same team they just had to comeback against late in the game. There are two ways to approach this: The Sparks already beat up Seattle, so why try much — maybe take a shot at some plus money for Seattle at home in the first half. The second is simply putting the pressure on Seattle to do something they have not done yet this season despite having two top individual talents.
Expect Ogwumike to get the better of Seattle’s frontcourt, but she will have plenty of help from Lexie Brown. Do not forget the family affair, as Nneka should see younger sister Chiney Ogwumike continue to shine as the team’s second-leading rebounder and co-leader in blocks. There will be runs — it is basketball after all — but the better team will prevail on the road and cover that smaller number.
