It is a loaded five-game slate of WNBA action across tonight’s Friday, August 15th schedule. Headlining the action at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Seattle Storm will travel to face the Atlanta Dream.
The Dream have climbed to second place in the WNBA standings with a 21-11 record on the year. This includes entering tonight’s game on a six-game winning streak and winning eight of their last nine. The Storm have not played their best basketball of late and slipped to 16-17 on the season, which has dropped them to eighth place in the standings. They are riding a six-game losing streak into tonight’s matchup. These two teams have faced off three times this season, including in the previous game. Tonight will mark the second night of a back-to-back between these two teams, with the Dream producing an 85-75 victory on Wednesday. Atlanta has won two of the three matchups thus far.
Looking at tonight’s matchup, the Dream enter as two-point favorites and -135 on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Storm hold +114 odds of pulling off the upset with the game total set at 160.
Storm at Dream preview
The Seattle Storm were shaping into a legitimate playoff threat before this recent skid. They were 16-11 at the end of July and made a win-now move by trading for Brittney Sykes just over a week ago. Sykes was leading the Washington Mystics in production with 15.4 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds across her 25 games played with the team. She has played 32.3 minutes per game across her first three games with the Storm, averaging 16.0 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike leads Seattle with 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Skylar Diggins continues to produce, even at age 34, adding 15.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 38.5% from beyond the three-point arc. Gabby Williams and Erica Wheeler each also pitch in 11.0+ points per game, with Williams adding 4.6 rebounds per game. Ezi Magbegor is also an X-factor to watch, adding 8.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and blocking 2.0 shots per game.
As a team, Seattle ranks eighth in scoring at 81.7 points per game. They rank fifth in field goal percentage, sixth in three-point percentage, third in assists, and turn the ball over at the lowest rate in the league. The Storm rank seventh in pace and second in assist-to-turnover ratio. Defensively, Seattle is holding opponents to 80.0 points per game, which ranks fifth in the league. They rank eighth in opponents’ field goal percentage, ninth in opponents’ three-point percentage, and 11th in opponents’ rebounds allowed while producing the fifth-best defensive rating.
The Atlanta Dream have been red-hot of late and will look to build off this. Their 21-11 record puts them just two wins below tying the franchise record for most wins in a season, with still 12 games left to play. The active six-game winning streak is the longest of the season, with four of these coming by double digits. The Dream average 84.3 points per game, which ranks fifth in the league. They rank sixth in field goal percentage, fourth in three-point percentage, second in three-point attempts, fourth in assists, third in turnovers, and lead the WNBA in rebounds per game. Defensively, opponents are averaging 78.0 points per game against Atlanta, the third-best rate, and rank fifth in opponents’ field goal percentage and seventh in opponents’ three-point percentage. They rank 12th in turnovers per game forced, but third in defensive rating, and give up the fewest points off turnovers and points on the fast break of all teams.
Allisha Gray headlines the production wth 19.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 40.8% from beyond the three-point arc. Rhyne Howard made her much-awaited return from a knee injury on Sunday, which had held her out for a month. It was a short-lived return as she was ejected from her first game back for arguing with officials and scored just four points in 16 minutes of action. Howard looked more like herself in the previous game against the Storm, finishing with 25 points and seven assists. She is second on the Dream in scoring this season with averages of 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. The three-time All-Star also scored 33 points against the Dream already this year. Brionna Jones pitches in 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while it has been a mixed bag of results for Brittney Griner. The nine-time All-Star is averaging a career-worst 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.
Storm at Dream prediction, pick
These are two teams trending in opposite directions and will be the fourth and final matchup between them. Atlanta shot 49.2% from the floor and 46.2% from beyond the three-point arc in Wednesday’s game and outrebounded the Storm 42-26. Seattle will eventually find their footing and begin to put a more respectable product on the court, but they are in full-scale free fall right now. They have some concerning losses over the past two months, which include falling short to the Connecticut Sun, the Washington Mystics twice, the Dallas Wings, and the Los Angeles Sparks twice.
In contrast, Atlanta looks to be playing their best basketball and should continue to improve as Rhyne Howard settles back in. The Dream have climbed up to the second seed in the WNBA and the top of the Eastern Conference with their recent hot streak. Expect them to be intent on keeping it. Seattle’s defense has eroded in a major way, giving up an average of 91 points per game in the recent losing streak. Atlanta is a better offense than most of the teams they have faced across this stretch and will have the chance to lay it on again tonight.
Expect things to get worse before they get better for the Storm and for Atlanta to be in a prime position to extend their winning streak. The Dream has done a lot to solidify their hopes of being true contenders this season in recent weeks, ranking top three in scoring and points allowed across this winning streak. With this game taking place at a neutral site and a significant gap in the current level of play from each team, I am backing the Dream to extend their winning streak and cover the two-point spread tonight.
