Three games of WNBA action are on the Saturday, August 23rd slate. To cap off the round of matchups, the Chicago Sky host the Connecticut Sun. Angel Reese made a return from a 20-day absence due to a back injury this week and returned right back to her normal self.
Both of these teams have been eliminated from playoff contention with the home stretch of the WNBA regular season on us. The Chicago Sky officially sit in 11th place in the standings with a 9-26 record, while the Connecticut Sun sit in last place with an 8-27 overall record. These teams have faced off twice so far this season, with both teams pulling out a victory to this point.
Looking at tonight’s matchup, the Sky enter as 2.5-point favorites with -135 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Sun hold +114 odds of pulling off the upset with the game total set at 158 points.
Sun at Sky preview
Neither of these teams is anywhere close to the gold standard of WNBA play and both are eager to turn the page to next season.
The Chicago Sky hold a record of 9-26 on the season and are just 5-13 when playing at home. They rank 12th in the league in scoring at 75.7 points per game. Chicago ranks 10th in field-goal percentage, 10th in three-point percentage, 12th in offensive rating, 11th in pace, and second in rebounds per game. Defensively, they rank 11th in opponent points per game at 86.2, 10th in opponent field goal percentage, 12th in opponent three-point percentage, and 13th in defensive rating.
Angel Reese headlines the team’s production with 14.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Kamilla Cardoso is also impactful on the interior, adding 13.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest, while Ariel Atkins is the primary contributor at the guard position with 13.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. Rachel Banham also adds 9.4 points and 2.5 assists while knocking down 37.1% of her team-high 5.6 three-point attempts per game.
The Connecticut Sun have brought up the rear of the WNBA standings from start to finish this season. They lost the opening five games and slipped to 2-16 out of the gate, unable to ever recover ever since. Connecticut has won three of their last four games, including one which came against Chicago, but it is too little too late. The Sun rank dead last in scoring at 75.7 points per game, 12th in field-goal percentage, 13th in three-point percentage, and 13th in offensive rating. Defensively, opponents are scoring 85.4 points against Connecticut, which ranks 10th in the league. The Sun also ranks 13th in opponent field-goal percentage, 10th in opponent three-point percentage, and 10th in defensive rating.
Tina Charles leads the team in production with 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Marina Mabrey is not far behind with season averages of 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. But there is a significant drop-off in production beyond this. Leila Lacan is third on the team in scoring with 9.1 points per game and has played just 18 games this season. Saniya Rivers adds 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Sun at Sky prediction, pick
While the season-long goals are off the table for both teams, sorting out which of these players will remain a part of the foundation moving forward is still essential. Expect a clear focus on evaluating the talent as both teams prepare to turn the page to the offseason. On the positive side, the Sun enter riding a two-game winning streak while the Sky also are coming off a win.
Ultimately, expect the battle on the boards to be too large a problem from Connecticut’s perspective. Chicago ranks second in the WNBA in rebounds per game, has the second-best rebounding percentage at 52.3%, and the highest offensive rebounding percentage at 34.9%. This has been a weakness of the Sun as they rank 12th in rebounds per game, allow the second-most rebounds to opponents, and fall dead-last in both overall rebounding percentage and defensive rebounding percentage.
Expect Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso to make their impact on the interior and drive the result of this game. Connecticut does not possess interior talent capable of slowing them down, and the pair of second-year players continue to compete at a high level even with the season holding the outlook it does. With the spread at just 2.5 points, I am opting to take the Moneyline for added insurance at -135 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. These pair of teams have split their matchups so far this season, but the victory the Sun produced came when Angel Reese was injured. Expect the Sky to lean on their full identity and commit to rebounding the basketball with Reese back today, and for this to be their pathway to their 10th win of the season.
