Three games of action will be taking place across tonight’s WNBA slate. Tipping off at 7:40 p.m. ET, the Dallas Wings will take on the Toronto Tempo.
This will mark the second of three matchups between these two teams this year. They faced off on Sunday, resulting in an 89-76 win for the Dallas Wings.
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Wings enter as 7.5-point road favorites and hold -310 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Tempo hold +250 odds of winning outright, with the game total set at 178.5 points.
Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Friday night Wings at Tempo matchup.
Wings at Tempo Preview
After going just 10-34 last season, the Wings have already surpassed their win total on the year. They enter this matchup with a 14-8 record, the fourth-best in the WNBA. Dallas has won three consecutive games leading into tonight’s matchup, with Sunday’s win over the Tempo included in this. On the season overall, the Wings have gone 11-11 against the spread, and the game total has remained under in 13 of their 22 games played.
The Wings enter with a clean injury report for tonight’s matchup. Paige Bueckers headlines the production with 20.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds on the season. Jessica Sheppard contributes 14.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, while Azzi Fudd and Arike Ogunbowale also average double figures. Maddy Siegrist, Awak Kuier, and Aziaha James also play key roles.
Jose Fernandez’s squad is scoring 88.3 points per game, which ranks sixth in the WNBA. Dallas also ranks sixth in offensive rating, fifth in field goal percentage, and ninth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 84.7 points per game against the Wings, which ranks sixth in the league. Dallas also ranks fifth in defensive rating, ninth in opponent field goal percentage, and ninth in opponent three-point percentage.
The Toronto Tempo hold a 9-12 record in its inaugural WNBA season. They are looking to snap a three-game losing streak and have dropped seven of their past nine games. On the season, Toronto has gone 12-9 against the spread, and the game total has gone over in 13 of their 21 games played.
Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice, and Temi Fagbenle will each miss tonight’s game due to injury. Nyara Sabally joins them on the injury report and is considered questionable with a knee injury. Sykes is the most noteworthy loss, and Toronto will continue to look to overcome the 20.1 points per game she provides. Marina Mabrey will headline the production, posting averages of 20.6 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. Isabelle Harrison contributes 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds, while Laura Juskaite, Maria Conde, and Julie Allemand also play key roles.
As a team, the Tempo is scoring 89.3 points per game, which ranks fourth in the WNBA. Toronto also ranks fifth in offensive rating, seventh in field goal percentage, and third in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are averaging 91.3 points per game against the Tempo, ranking 14th in the WNBA. The Tempo also rank 13th in defensive rating, 12th in opponent field goal percentage, and sixth in opponent three-point percentage.
Wings at Tempo Pick, Best Bet
These teams faced off on Sunday, which resulted in an 89-76 win for the Wings. It was a wire-to-wire win by Dallas, in which the group extended the lead as wide as 20 points and outscored the Tempo from every area of the floor. All five members of the Wings scored in double figures and had success against this porous Tempo defense.
Sunday’s matchup took place in Toronto, and tonight’s will be north of the border as well. This has not made much of a difference for the Tempo, as they are 5-6 at home and 4-6 on the road this year. Toronto has covered the spread at a greater rate on the road this season, going 7-3 ATS in away games and 5-6 ATS when playing at home. The Tempo were unable to remain within the 6.5-point spread during Sunday’s matchup. In contrast, the Wings are 8-5 on the road and 6-3 at home straight up, as well as 5-4 ATS at home and 6-7 ATS on the road.
Trends aside, expect more of the same from what we saw on Sunday between these two teams. When the Tempo are fully healthy, there is a vision for how they can look like a competent WNBA team. But without Sykes, Rice, Fagbenle, and possibly Sabally, Toronto will miss at least two of its top four scorers. This is especially problematic with defensive issues continuing, as the side ranks 14th in opponent points per game and 13th in defensive rating.
The Dallas Wings have found their stride of late, winning five of their past seven and enter having covered the spread in back-to-back matchups. Bueckers continues to ascend into one of the brightest stars in the league, and Dallas has done a nice job putting the proper supporting cast around her. Expect her to have success getting to her spots against this vulnerable defense and make the right reads in the flow of offense. Count on this matchup gradually slipping away and for the Wings to extend their winning streak in another comfortable victory by more than the 7.5-point spread. Dallas is playing its way into the conversation of a team that deserves some postseason respect, and this will be another chance to prove it against an inferior and struggling opponent.
