The Valkyries are hosting the Sun on Monday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Golden State is favored by 8.5 points and this game presents a total of 156.5 points.
Below, I break down the matchup between the Valkyries and the Sun and give a pick for the game.
Valkyries vs. Sun preview, prediction
Monday will be the third time this season that the Valkyries and the Sun have gone head-to-head and the first two matchups were both lopsided affairs. In the first contest, Golden State blew out Connecticut by 24 points and in the second matchup, the Sun returned the favor and defeated the Valkyries by 31 points, which is easily the largest margin of victory for Connecticut this season.
The Sun have struggled mightily this season, sitting dead last in the standings at 5-25 and ranking dead last in net rating. The Valkyries have had a much better campaign, with a 15-15 record and ranking seventh in net rating. Connecticut is led by Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey, while Golden State is led by its backcourt of Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes after the club lost Kayla Thornton (knee) for the season last month. The forward was averaging a career-high 14.0 PPG this season and Burton was the lone player from the Valkyries to be named to the All-Star team.
While losing Thornton was obviously far from ideal, Golden State has stayed afloat without her, with a 5-3 record with the 32-year-old inactive this season. Most recently, the Valkyries just defeated the Sparks 72-59 this past Saturday night, which was a timely win, as these two clubs are neck-and-neck in the standings and fighting to secure a playoff spot with only a month remaining in the regular season. Holding Los Angeles’ red-hot offense to just 59 points was very impressive for Golden State’s defense, as heading into that matchup, the Sparks had won three in a row and scored over 100 points in all those victories.
As for the Sun, the team has been more competitive as of late, but Connecticut has still lost four straight games, including a 94-86 loss to the Aces last night. Playing for the second time in two nights is never easy and it’s going to be difficult for the Sun to keep up with the Valkyries on Monday.
Valkyries vs. Sun pick, best bet
With this tilt in Golden State and the Valkyries the more rested team, Golden State should have no trouble defeating Connecticut on Monday. This season, The Valkyries are 9-5 at home, while the Sun are a league-worst 1-14 on the road.
Golden State -8.5 is a solid wager – the Valkyries are 18-12-0 ATS this season – but attacking under 156.5 points is a better option for this contest. The first two matchups between the Valkyries and Sun only produced 154.5 PPG and both these clubs rank inside the bottom-four in offensive rating this season.
Furthermore, as we just saw this past Saturday when Golden State slowed down the Sparks, the Valkyries also have the ability to be an elite defense at times. Golden State games are a league-best 20-10 for the under this season and we should see a low-scoring contest between these teams Monday.
