Fantasy women’s basketball tips and WNBA betting picks for Friday


Eric Moody

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Eric Moody

ESPNFormer manager at a Fortune 100 financial services company, now living my dream creating fantasy and sports betting content about the NFL, NBA, and WNBA for ESPN.

Andre Snellings

Sep 8, 2023, 12:00 PM ET

Each day of the WNBA season, our team of fantasy and betting experts breaks down every game on the slate, making note of everything from injuries and lineup changes to recent trends and more.

All odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Times are ET.

Here’s what to look for during today’s slate:

Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun
7:00 p.m. ET, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.

Line: Sun -10
Money line: Fever (+400), Sun (-550)
Total: 160 points

BPI prediction:
Sun: 84.9% chance to win.
Projected margin of victory: 11.9 points

Injury report
Fever: Kristy Wallace (Day-To-Day), Lexie Hull (Out)
Sun: No injuries reported

Best bet: Over 159.5 points. The Fever are finishing the season on a relatively positive note, winners of four of their last six games entering Friday. They have been winning with their offense; prior to scoring only 69 points in a loss on Tuesday, the Fever had averaged 88.7 PPG in their previous seven outings. The Sun are known more for their defense than their offense, but they have also scored at least 83 points in four of their last five games. -Andre’ Snellings

Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics
7:00 p.m. ET, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

Line: Mystics -5.5
Money line: Dream (+175), Mystics (-210)
Total: 162.5 points

BPI prediction:
Mystics: 61.1% chance to win.
Projected margin of victory: 3.1 points

Injury report
Dream: Nia Coffey (Out)
Mystics: Christyn Williams (Day-To-Day), Ariel Atkins (Day-To-Day), Shakira Austin (Out), Kristi Toliver (Out)

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Fantasy Streamer: Aari McDonald (available in 67.8% of leagues) has been a solid offense producer off the bench for the Dream. In her last three games, she has two double-digit scoring outings and two games of four and seven assists, with at least one 3-pointer made in all three games. -Snellings

Fantasy Streamer: Myisha Hines Allen (available in 42.8% of leagues) had a strong game on Sunday with, and parlayed that into a start on Tuesday with Shakira Austin (hip) out. In those two games, Hines Allen averaged 7.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.0 SPG and 0.5 BPG in 21.0 MPG. Austin is out again on Friday, so Hines Allen should have another chance to play impact minutes. -Snellings

Minnesota Lynx at Chicago Sky
8:00 p.m. ET, Wintrust Arena, Chicago

Line: Sky -4
Money line: Lynx (+158), Sky (-190)
Total: 164 points

BPI prediction:
Sky: 62.8% chance to win.
Projected margin of victory: 3.6 points

Injury report
Lynx: Jessica Shepard (Out), Lindsay Allen (Out), Natalie Achonwa (Out)
Sky: Rebekah Gardner (Out), Isabelle Harrison (Out)

Best Bet: Sky -4.0. On Friday night, the Sky, highly motivated and playing at home, desperately need a win to keep their postseason aspirations alive. Despite the Lynx’s 12-4 record against the spread on the road, the Sky are 5-1 against the spread in their last six games. Chicago should take care of business against the Lynx at home. -Eric Moody

Fantasy streamer: Dorka Juhasz (rostered in 50.1% of ESPN leagues) will continue to start for Minnesota with Jessica Shepard set to miss her fourth consecutive game due to an ankle injury. Juhasz has scored at least 20 fantasy points in four of her last five games, including two with more than 34 points. She’s my preferred streamer, but Juhasz’s roster percentage keeps growing. Bridget Carleton (rostered in 1.9% of ESPN leagues) is another option if she’s unavailable. -Moody

Seattle Storm at Dallas Wings
8:00 p.m. ET, College Park Center, Arlington

Line: Wings -11.5
Money line: Storm (+430), Wings (-600)
Total: 167.5 points

BPI prediction:
Wings: 71.2% chance to win.
Projected margin of victory: 6.2 points

Injury report
Storm: Gabby Williams (Out)
Wings: Crystal Dangerfield (Day-To-Day), Lou Lopez Senechal (Out), Diamond DeShields (Out)

Fantasy Streamer: Jordan Horston (available in 80.5% of leagues) had a down game in her last outing, but int he five before that she was solid with a strong all-around game that produced averages of 7.4 RPG, 6.2 PPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 30.4 MPG. I look for her to bounce back on Friday in what looks to be a high-scoring, fast-paced matchup against the Wings. -Snellings

Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury
10:00 p.m. ET, Footprint Center, Phoenix

Line: Aces -18.5
Money line: Aces (-2000), Mercury (+1050)
Total: 165 points

BPI prediction:
Aces: 86.6% chance to win.
Projected margin of victory: 12.8 points

Injury report
Aces: No injuries reported
Mercury: Shey Peddy (Out), Diana Taurasi (Out), Skylar Diggins-Smith (Out)

Editor’s Picks

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Best Bet: Aces -18.5. There is a ridiculously large spread for this game, but it’s tough to bet against the Aces. Having won just nine games out of 38 so far, the Mercury are dead last in the league. Over the last nine games, Phoenix has the worst plus/minus in the league. This metric quantifies the overall effectiveness of a team. It’s hard to imagine Las Vegas not destroying the Mercury on Friday night, even though the Aces are 0-4 against the spread in their last four road games. -Moody

Fantasy streamer: Michaela Onyenwere (rostered in 38.0% of ESPN leagues) is one of the top streamers on the Mercury. She’s closing out the regular season on a positive note. In two of her last three games, Onyenwere has scored 17 or more fantasy points. -Moody

Fantasy streamer: Sug Sutton (rostered in 19.9% of ESPN leagues) has been playing heavy minutes with Diana Taurasi dealing with a toe injury. Sutton has played 32 or more minutes in four consecutive games. Over that time, she’s averaged 23 fantasy points. -Moody

Fantasy streamer: Alysha Clark (rostered in 26.8% of ESPN leagues) is the only viable streamer in Las Vegas. Clark leads the league with 800 reserve minutes. The Sixth Player of the Year candidate has scored 20+ fantasy points in two consecutive games. -Moody



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