WNBA action rolls on this week as two of the top teams in the league return home to look to start another winning streak early in the year.
New York should be able to handle an Atlanta team that has looked impressive to start the year, while Washington is far better than Chicago and should outshoot them from beyond the arc to get a massive victory away from home.
New York -8.5 over Atlanta
New York is coming off their first loss of the season, allowing 102 points to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Jonquel Jones missed that matchup while the rest of the team, outside of Stewart and Sabrina, couldn’t pick up the slack on the defensive end.
With one game minus Jones under their belt, I don’t expect this squad to shoot 20% from beyond the arc again while allowing 17 made 3s to an Atlanta team that shoots it 32.7% from deep this season.
Although the Dream are on a three-game win streak, their wins against Washington, Chicago, and a Clark-less Fever don’t deter me from rolling with the best team in the league to beat them heavily at home.
Washington -4.5 over Chicago
Chicago has had one night to rest after that massive win against Connecticut to put them back into the win column. Angel Reese dropped the first triple-double of her career, while Hailey Van Lith is starting to become a real contributor for this young team.
That said, the Mystics are the more complete team here, especially on the offensive end. Brittany Sykes is a bucket-getter, while the rookies Citron and Iriafen have been nice surprises to start the season.
Washington holds opposing teams to just 30.4% shooting from beyond the arc and 40% from the field, which both rank in the top 3 in the W. Take them to shut down Chicago tonight.
Golden State +3 over Dallas
Expansion teams just keep winning in Year 1. While we can’t expect Golden State to make it to the WNBA Finals with this roster, this current unit, led by Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton, seems to have figured something out.
The Valkyries are active on the defensive end, forcing nearly 9 steals per contest and standing 2nd in the league in rebounds per game. While their offense has sputtered at times, they have beaten some impressive teams in close games to start the year.
With a solid defensive backbone facing a Wings team that is lacking confidence, I’ll take Golden State to come into Texas and shut down Dallas.
