The Los Angeles Sparks are hosting the Seattle Storm on Tuesday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Storm are a nine-point favorite and the contest carries a total of 155 points.
Below, I break down this matchup between the Sparks and Storm and give a pick for the game.
Sparks vs. Storm preview, prediction
Tuesday will be the first time the Storm and Sparks have gone head-to-head this season, and the Storm deserve to be the favorite for this matchup. Seattle is 6-5 and the club ranks sixth in net rating, while Los Angeles is 4-8 and ranks ninth in net rating among the 13 teams in the WNBA. Skylar Diggins has led the way for the Storm, averaging 18.1 points and 6.1 assists per game, and Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams have also been great with 15.6 and 14.4 PPG, respectively.
For the Sparks, Dearica Hamby has been great up front, averaging a near double-double with 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Kesley Plum has been excellent as a scorer in the back-court, leading the team with 20.9 PPG to go along with 5.6 assists per game.
The problem for Los Angeles on Tuesday is that Plum will miss her first game of the season with a lower leg injury. Plum’s backcourt mate Odyssey Sims will also be out for the second straight game due to personal reasons. This season, Sims averages 10.5 points in 30.6 minutes per game, and with her inactive this past Saturday vs. the Lynx, the Sparks got blown out by 23 points.
On the other side of this matchup, Seattle is at full strength. For Los Angeles to have a chance Tuesday, Hamby is going to have to dominate as a scorer and Azura Stevens is going to have to step in a big way. With Plum off the court this season, Stevens leads the Sparks with a 30% usage rate.
Sparks vs. Storm pick, best bet
Unfortunately for Los Angeles, overcoming the absences of Plum and Sims is likely too tall of an order for the club. The Sparks lose so much offensive firepower with Plum sidelined, and with this being Los Angeles first time playing without her this season, the team could be very unorganized on offense.
The Storm enter this matchup winning three of the team’s last four games and two of these victories have been by double-digits. While Seattle is only 2-3 on the road this season, backing the Storm to cover this -9 line makes sense Tuesday with the Sparks shorthanded.
