Spoiler alert: the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun will not be WNBA playoff contenders this season. But that doesn’t mean they are anywhere near the same tier of team.
At 9-14, it would take one heck of a second half for the Sparks to make a playoff push. They’re working on a modest three-game winning streak that has put them two games out of the eighth seed. The defense is flawed, but the trio of Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby and Azura Stevens can take them places if all falls into place.
Nobody is coming to save the Sun right now. At 3-19, they’re three games clear of the second-worst team in the WNBA. Marina Mabrey is the only player with legitimate star chops but hasn’t played in a month. Tina Charles is putting up buckets on her retirement tour. There are some interesting young players down the roster with the likes of Leïla Lacan, Aneesah Morrow, Saniya Rivers, Jacy Sheldon, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa all showing the makings of future contributors. But for this year, the situation feels dire.
The Sparks are six-point favorites on the road at -258 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 166.5 points. Let’s look at the best bets and predictions for this contest.
Sparks vs. Sun prediction, pick
The Sparks offense has been humming during their winning streak, scoring 90+ points in all three games. Everyone is firing right now. Kelsey Plum is averaging 18 PPG and 5.3 APG on 53%/50%/100% shooting splits. Dearica Hamby is averaging 22.3 points with 9.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Rickea Jackson has also caught fire with 21.0 PPG on 54% shooting.
This all lines up well going into a matchup with the WNBA’s worst defense. The Sun possess the worst defensive rating in the W and are allowing 88 points per game. On top of that, they have the worst offensive rating in the league. I understand our oddsmakers being hesitant to give a big line in favor of a lottery-bound Sparks squad, but they’re miles ahead of Connecticut. This game will prove it.
