2016 wnba thread news notes picks !

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 25


Minnesota @ Phoenix

Game 601-602
May 25, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
116.519
Phoenix
118.502
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 2
162
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 4
167
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(+4); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Wednesday, May 25

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MINNESOTA (29 - 15) at PHOENIX (22 - 16) - 5/25/2016, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHOENIX is 54-34 ATS (+16.6 Units) on Wednesday since 1997.
PHOENIX is 13-26 ATS (-15.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 12-30 ATS (-21.0 Units) in May games since 1997.
PHOENIX is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 8-7 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 8-7 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
11 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Wednesday, May 25

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Trend Report
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10:00 PM
MINNESOTA vs. PHOENIX
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota

[StarDust Bum]

5/24 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS 2 - 0
OVERALL : 23 - 14

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

MIN at PHO 10:00 PM

MIN -4.0

O 166.5

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

-- Giants 4, Padres 3 (10)-- Giants are 9-0 against San Diego this season.

-- Vin Scully turned down a chance to call the All-Star Game in his final season as a broadcaster.

-- Jackie Bradley Jr's hitting streak is now at 29 games.

-- Indians 4, White Sox 3-- Chicago is now 4-11 in its last 15 games, leads Indians by only a half-game in AL Central.

-- Sharks 5, Blues 2-- St Louis made Stanley Cup finals in their first three years of existence (1967-70); they haven't been back since.

-- Cavaliers 116, Raptors 78-- Another uninteresting game. The average margin of victory in these five games has been 21.8 points.

**********

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud.......

13) Wednesday was the deadline for NBA prospects to drop out of the draft and go back to school-- at least 45 players have done that. Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey both went back to school, making Oregon a national title contender next winter.

12) Purdue gets big man Caleb Swanigan back for next year: "I'm going back to school. I feel I'm only a 2nd round pick and I can do better than that. I love Purdue.'' Boilermakers still need better guard play, but Swanigan's return is important.

11) Clemson also got very good news that Jaron Blossonggame will return to school; Littlejohn Coliseum was re-done last winter, so Brad Brownell will be on the hot seat to make the NCAAs next year. When boosters kick in a lot of money to refurbish an arena, they expect results. With Blossingame, Clemson can make the NCAAs.

10) USC appears to be the big loser Wednesday; they lost two starters, their point guard and center, despite thought that neither one will get drafted. Trojans were going to be a top 15 team if both kids came back. Now they're out of the top 25. .

9) Similar bad news at Seton Hall, after Isaiah Whitehead stayed in the draft- had he stayed in school, he would've been a preseason All-American, and Kevin Willard is a much smarter coach. Whitehead may or may not get picked in the first round.

8) Los Angeles Rams will travel 32,072 miles this coming season, most of any team; even without their London trip, Rams would travel 5th-most miles in league.

7) There are six teams who will travel less than 10,000 miles this year, all from the two north divisions-- Lions-Packers-Bears-Ravens-Browns-Steelers.

6) Memphis Grizzlies offered their coaching job to Miami assistant David Fizdale, who has been an NBA assistant for 14 years. Grizzlies are tough team to work for; in last four years, they've fired a coach who went 56-26, then a coach who went 42-40 despite using 28 players, the most players an NBA team has ever had in one season.

5) Odubel Herrera, Yasiel Puig were both benched this week for not running balls out. Herrera returned to the lineup and homered Wednesday afternoon.

4) Rougned Odor punched an opponent in the face 11 days ago; when does he get suspended? Baseball does this so badly; by the time he gets suspended, we'll forget what he got suspended for. For that fight, the suspension should've been immediate.

3) Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .214 this year and is hurt again; this is his 7th year in the major leagues- he's played more than 123 games twice. I look at the guy and I see a WWE wrestler; he is too damn bulked-up to play baseball. Yes I'm bitter because he has been on my fantasy team since he was an 18-year old in the Florida State League, but how can a guy like this have only one season with 90+ RBI?

2) Imagine how bitter you would be if you were paying Stanton's salary? The meat of his big-money deal doesn't start for two more years-- starting in 2018, Stanton will make an average of $31M a year for 11 years, from age 28 to 38. Oy.

1) Matt Harvey is 3-7, 6.08 this season; he's allowed 73 hits in 53.1 IP. No bueno.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, May 26


Los Angeles @ Connecticut

Game 651-652
May 26, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
116.518
Connecticut
105.533
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 11
157
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 9
161 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-9); Under

Washington @ Seattle

Game 653-654
May 26, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
103.285
Seattle
111.187
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 8
158
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 5 1/2
152 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Seattle
(-5 1/2); Over




WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 26

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LOS ANGELES (15 - 22) at CONNECTICUT (15 - 19) - 5/26/2016, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 82-110 ATS (-39.0 Units) after a win by 10 points or more since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 124-162 ATS (-54.2 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games after a division game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 2-2 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 2-2 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WASHINGTON (19 - 18) at SEATTLE (10 - 24) - 5/26/2016, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 280-337 ATS (-90.7 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 53-76 ATS (-30.6 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 167-214 ATS (-68.4 Units) after a division game since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 14-4 ATS (+9.6 Units) as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SEATTLE is 2-2 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 3-1 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Thursday, May 26

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. CONNECTICUT
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Los Angeles's last 18 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

10:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. SEATTLE
Washington is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Washington is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sparks (4-0) at Sun (1-2)
Date: May 26, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

Now that Chiney Ogwumike is back on the floor, perhaps she can finally earn a victory over sister Nneka Ogwumike.

It won't be easy because Chiney Ogwumike's Connecticut Sun will be up against an unbeaten Los Angeles Sparks team that features her sister as well as a rejuvenated Candace Parker.

Both sisters are former rookie of the year winners, with Nneka winning in 2012 and Chiney in 2014. They didn't meet last year since Chiney was sidelined due to knee surgery.

"It's always fun playing against (Chiney)," Nneka Ogwumike said. "It's easy to say it's just another game, but it's not. I'm just happy to see her back out on the court after she missed last year with the injury."

Los Angeles took both matchups in 2014 when the sisters met while Connecticut (1-2) won both meetings a season ago.

The bigger factor in the 2015 season series than Chiney Ogwumike being out was Parker being absent from the Sparks. The two-time league MVP is with her team from day one this season and is averaging 20.5 points to key this 4-0 start by Los Angeles.

She scored 26 and grabbed nine rebounds while Nneka Ogwumike added 19 and nine as the Sparks moved within a game of a perfect four-game trip following Tuesday's 93-80 victory over Chicago. Los Angeles closed the half on an 18-2 spurt for an 18-point cushion.

The Sparks average a league-best 91.3 points and allow the fewest at 71.3 per game.

The Sun have had a few days to ****** Saturday's 84-76 overtime defeat to Washington in their home opener. Alyssa Thomas scored 18 and Jasmine Thomas added 13.

Connecticut is the league's worst shooting team at 36.6 percent and second-worst on 3-pointers at 26.3.

Los Angeles guard Chelsea Gray returns to face the Sun after the former first-round pick played 34 games for them as a rookie a year ago after battling back from several knee injuries.

The Sparks are ranked No. 2 in the AP WNBA power poll while the Sun check in at No. 11.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Jun 26, 2015 Score ATS Results
LOS 76 Cover: 3
CONN « 80 Over: 156
Tools: Recaps

Jun 21, 2015 Score ATS Results
CONN « 76 Cover: 4
LOS 68 Over: 144
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Mystics (1-3) at Storm (1-2)
Date: May 26, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Tayler Hill's career-best scoring performance gave the Washington Mystics just enough of an edge to end their worst start in nine years.

The Mystics will seek to collect another victory Thursday night while ending their lengthy road losing streak against the Seattle Storm.

Hill tallied 24 points and set another personal high with seven assists in an 84-76 overtime win against Connecticut on Saturday, the opener to a three-game trip for Washington (1-3). That was also the Mystics' first road game of the season.

Hill is averaging 18 points, 10.5 more than in her third WNBA season, and she scored 20 in each of Washington's first two games. The guard will try for another high-scoring effort while helping the Mystics end a 10-game losing streak at Seattle (1-2).

Washington hasn't won in that city since July 13, 2005, and has fallen in overtime in two of its last three visits. The Storm topped the Mystics in regulation in last season's lone home matchup, a 69-59 victory Aug. 30.

Washington split the two overall meetings and won 87-74 on July 29 with Ivory Latta scoring 20 points. The veteran guard hasn't played this season because she's recovering from surgery for a torn meniscus in her right knee.

Starting guard Natasha Cloud is set to miss a third consecutive game because of an illness, and the Mystics signed Jamie Weisner on Monday to boost their depth.

Alysha Clark scored a career-high 20 points Sunday in the Storm's home opener, but Seattle fell 78-71 to defending champion Minnesota. Brenna Stewart, this year's No. 1 draft pick, registered her second straight double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

"It's been fun watching Stewie," coach Jenny Boucek told the team's official website. "You're seeing why she's so great, and why she will be so great. She's got talent, but she is extremely hungry and unafraid. She wants to go against the best."

Stewart had the same stat line in an 81-80 victory in Phoenix on Friday. Jewell Loyd clinched that win by banking in a 12-foot shot with 2.9 seconds left and finished with a career-high 30 points.

The Storm have had different players post high-scoring efforts in each of the first three games, and Stewart had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in her pro debut, a 96-66 defeat at Los Angeles on May 15.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Aug 30, 2015 Score ATS Results
WAS 59 Under: 128
SEA « 69 Cover: 14.5
Tools: Recaps

Jul 29, 2015 Score ATS Results
SEA 74 Over: 161
WAS « 87 Cover: 4.5
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, MAY 26

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at CONN 07:00 PM

LA -9.0

O 159.0


WAS at SEA 10:00 PM

SEA -5.0

U 153.0

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

How the divisional races in major league baseball are shaping up..........

NL East-- Washington leads Mets by three games, Miami by four.

NL Central-- Cubs are jogging, lead sliding Pittsburgh by 8.5 games.

NL West-- Giants lead underachieving Dodgers by 5.5 games; other three are awful.

AL East-- Red Sox lead Orioles by a game, Toronto by 3.5 games.

AL Central-- Royals now lead Cleveland, fading White Sox by 1.5 games.

AL West-- Texas/Seattle are tied for first; they meet this weekend in Arlington.

**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here.......

13) Warriors 104, Cavaliers 89-- Curry/Thompson combined for only 20 points, their lowest total of the year, and Golden State still wasn't in danger here. Subs for Warriors were a combined +55 in the game.

12) Now Curry/Thompson can rest up for a couple days before Sunday's Game 2. Golden State has won six in a row over the Cavaliers, dating back to LY's Finals.

11) Mariners 16, Padres 13-- San Diego led 12-2 after 5th inning, trailed before the 7th-inning stretch. Seattle had seven consecutive run scoring singles in top of the 7th. If you took the Giants and Clayton Kershaw out of the NL West, it wouldn't be that much better than the freakin' Pacific Coast League.

10) Bud Black went 649-713 in 8.5 years as Padres' manager; looking back, he seems like freakin' Sparky Anderson compared to the present regime. Somene remind me why an Ivy league genius fired Black. anyone? anyone? Bueller?

9) So far seven football recruits have asked out of their Letter of Intent to play this fall at Baylor; will be interesting to see how much this damages their recruiting going forward. People tend to have short memories.

8) When UNLV hired Marvin Menzies as its basketball coach April 16, they had three scholarship players on their roster- now they have 11, two under the limit. This is an excellent job of recruiting by the new staff; plus there are no McDonald's A-A's in the group, so no one will be jumping to the NBA next spring. Muy bueno. .

7) Looking thri college hoop stuff this week, it is striking how St Mary's went 29-6 this year, 15-3 in WCC, despite Gaels having no seniors on their squad. They should be really good this coming season, with their whole team back.

6) Rennie Stennett was at the Pirate-Marlin game Wednesday night; he is best known as last player to get seven hits in a game, on September 16, 1975 against Chicago. Odd thing is that his first hit that night was against Rick Reuschel; his 7th hit that night was against Reuschel's brother Paul

5) Arizona 3B Jake Lamb has nine homers this year, five in the ninth inning.

4) Diamondback TV analyst Bob Brenly is a very nice guy, totally relaxed during games, so it was odd to hear shred Houston OF Carlos Gomez during Monday's game, saying opponents are "delighted to see Gomez struggle" like he is this season. Gomez is known as a showboat who gloats when things are going well for him- they have not been going well for him for over a year now.

3) Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas will be imploded starting at 2am June 14- demolition of the famed casino, which will be completed in August, will cost $42M.

2) Jets need a starting QB, Rams have a QB (Nick Foles) they don't want. Foles threw 27 TDs with two INTs when he was on the Eagles and had DeSean Jackson to throw to. Jets should toss the Rams a 7th-round pick and help both teams out, and then Ryan Fitzpatrick can explain to his wife why he turned down a $24M deal. .

1) ESPN is not going to be happy if the NBA Finals are as bad as it looks like they might be. Thunder-Warriors seems like real Finals- they were televised on TNT. The Western Conference is just so much better than the East. Would the league think about eliminating east/west distinctions for the playoffs? Tough thing to do.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Friday, June 3

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. CONNECTICUT
Atlanta is 6-12-1 ATS in its last 19 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 8 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Connecticut is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Connecticut's last 12 games

7:30 PM
INDIANA vs. NEW YORK
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing New York
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
New York is 2-10 ATS in its last 12 games at home
New York is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games

8:30 PM
WASHINGTON vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Washington is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Chicago is 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 games

10:00 PM
PHOENIX vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Phoenix is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Seattle's last 9 games
Seattle is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Phoenix

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Friday, June 3

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ATLANTA (15 - 19) at CONNECTICUT (15 - 19) - 6/3/2016, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) as a road favorite of 3.5 to 6 points since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in June games over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 25-15 ATS (+8.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 19-7 ATS (+11.3 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in home games after a non-conference game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 4-4 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 5-4 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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INDIANA (26 - 19) at NEW YORK (26 - 14) - 6/3/2016, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 95-61 ATS (+27.9 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more since 1997.
INDIANA is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) in road games over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 7-5 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 9-3 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WASHINGTON (19 - 18) at CHICAGO (22 - 15) - 6/3/2016, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 281-339 ATS (-91.9 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 177-222 ATS (-67.2 Units) vs. division opponents since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 168-214 ATS (-67.4 Units) after a division game since 1997.
CHICAGO is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) in home games after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 10-20 ATS (-12.0 Units) after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in home games after playing 3 consecutive road games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 5-4 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 7-3 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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PHOENIX (22 - 16) at SEATTLE (10 - 24) - 6/3/2016, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHOENIX is 14-28 ATS (-16.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 10-20 ATS (-12.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 6-15 ATS (-10.5 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) in May, June, or July games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 112-77 ATS (+27.3 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1997.
SEATTLE is 52-32 ATS (+16.8 Units) in home games after a non-conference game since 1997.
SEATTLE is 99-72 ATS (+19.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 8-2 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 9-1 straight up against SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, June 3


Atlanta @ Connecticut

Game 601-602
June 3, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
111.716
Connecticut
103.677
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 8
171
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Atlanta
by 5
165
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(-5); Over

Indiana @ New York

Game 603-604
June 3, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
108.178
New York
115.659
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
New York
by 7 1/2
149
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York
by 5
155
Dunkel Pick:
New York
(-5); Under

Washington @ Chicago

Game 605-606
June 3, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
106.611
Chicago
112.152
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 5 1/2
157
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago
by 10 1/2
164
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+10 1/2); Under

Phoenix @ Seattle

Game 607-608
June 3, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
110.389
Seattle
111.298
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 1
169
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
by 4
166 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Seattle
(+4); Over

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Betting Recap: 5/23-5/29
May 29, 2016

League Betting Notes (Monday May 23 through Sunday May 29)

-- Favorites went 8-4 straight up (SU)

-- Underdogs went 6-6 against the spread (ATS)

-- Home teams posted a 5-7 SU record

-- Road teams posted a 7-5 ATS record

-- The 'over' went 9-3


Team Betting Notes

Atlanta pulled off a perfect 3-0 week by beating New York and Dallas as a road underdog, followed by home victory over Indiana on Sunday. The Dream improved to 5-1 SU/ATS, while sitting atop the Eastern Conference through two weeks of action. Atlanta’s offense eclipsed the 80-point mark for the fifth consecutive game in the 85-76 triumph over the Fever, as the Dream cashed the ‘over’ for the third straight contest.

Los Angeles completed a successful road trip with four consecutive wins away from Staples Center. The Sparks won at Chicago and Connecticut as away favorites, but failed to cash as 11-point favorites in a five-point victory against the Sun. Los Angeles and Minnesota are the only undefeated teams with exact 5-0 records as the two Western powers will play a home-and-home set on June 21 and June 24 that starts in Southern California and concludes in Minneapolis.

San Antonio finally broke into the win column following an 0-3 start by upsetting Chicago as an eight-point home underdog, 79-78 on Friday. The Stars have been competitive in spite of their slow beginning to the season as each of their last three games were decided by five points or less. San Antonio travels to Los Angeles on Thursday as the Stars should be listed as healthy underdogs and provide value after the Sparks return home from a long road trip.

The Mystics are winless at home in three tries, but Washington traveled to Seattle and beat the Storm in overtime for its second road victory on the season. However, Washington fell short at Phoenix on Sunday as the Mercury picked up its first win. Second place is wide-open in the Eastern Conference past the Dream as the Mystics will have a busy week ahead with a home-and-home set against Chicago followed by a trip to Atlanta on June 5.

Following a blowout of Connecticut in its season opener, things have gone backwards for Chicago. The Sky lost four consecutive games prior to a 92-87 triumph at Dallas on Sunday to improve to 2-4 SU/ATS. Chicago will catch Washington off a three-game road trip on Wednesday night as the Sky has eclipsed the ‘over’ in four of the past five contests.

Dallas struggled at home by losing a pair of contests to Atlanta and Chicago. The Wings’ defense allowed 79 points or less in each of its first four games, but Dallas was shredded in the last two contests by giving up 102 to the Dream and 92 to the Sky. The task doesn’t get easier for Dallas as it heads to undefeated Minnesota next Saturday as the Lynx have allowed 80 points or less in all five victories this season.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Dream (5-1) at Sun (1-5)
Date: June 03, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

An indication of her growing maturity, Angel McCoughtry is trying to stay in a brighter mood when faced with obstacles.

McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream, however, haven't encountered too many impediments so far this season and look to extend one of the best starts in franchise history Friday night.

The Connecticut Sun are trying to avoid matching their worst and their first 0-3 mark at home.

McCoughtry has been known as a mercurial player and one of the lowlights of her career was a team-imposed, two-game suspension in 2012.

"I didn't know how to channel adversity when I was younger. I love to win so much, I would get frustrated when we didn't. Now I channel my adversity by not getting frustrated and playing through it," she said.

McCoughtry is in her usual spot among the league leaders with 19 points per game, but she's getting a little more help this season. Tiffany Hayes is averaging 15.7 points, up from 12.9 in each of the previous two years, and Layshia Clarendon has made an even bigger leap while helping Atlanta jump out to a 5-1 record.

Clarendon is scoring 14.5 points per contest, nearly triple her average from her three seasons in Indiana. The guard has totaled 36 points in the past two games and had 17 as the Dream avenged their only defeat this season with an 85-76 victory over Indiana on Sunday, their fourth in a row.

McCoughtry led the way with 22 points and Atlanta is averaging 86.2 during the third-best start in team history, up from 77.8 in 2015. The Dream began 10-1 in 2013 and 6-1 in 2010.

"We are slowly but surely getting our momentum," coach Michael Cooper said. "We are playing good but it's early. With the format of the playoffs it is important that you win these games and that's why we are 5-1."

The Sun are 1-5 following their fourth consecutive defeat Tuesday, 99-90 at Phoenix. Connecticut has started 1-6 one other time in franchise history, in 2001 as the Orlando Miracle.

The Sun's leading scorer is Jasmine Thomas at 13.0 points per game. Connecticut is near the bottom in the league at 76.8 per contest and is giving up an average of 85.7.

The Sun have allowed their past two opponents to surpass 90 points.

The Dream won the final three of last season's five meetings and ended a five-game losing streak at Connecticut with a 102-92 victory Aug. 23. McCoughtry scored 33 points, one shy of matching her season high.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Aug 25, 2015 Score ATS Results
CONN 57 Under: 128
ATL « 71 Cover: 6.5
Tools: Recaps

Aug 23, 2015 Score ATS Results
ATL « 102 Cover: 7.5
CONN 92 Over: 194
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Aug 16, 2015 Score ATS Results
CONN 77 Over: 167
ATL « 90 Cover: 9.5
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Jun 14, 2015 Score ATS Results
ATL 64 Push: 146
CONN « 82 Cover: 20
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Jun 7, 2015 Score ATS Results
CONN « 75 Cover: 16.5
ATL 70 Under: 145
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Fever (3-3) at Liberty (2-3)
Date: June 03, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Shots aren't falling during a winless stretch the New York Liberty never experienced a season ago.

Losers of three straight, they'll finish a difficult homestand Friday night against an Indiana Fever team that's posed problems in the recent past.

New York (2-3) hasn't had an easy time against the WNBA's early season successes, dropping consecutive games to Los Angeles, Atlanta and Minnesota in a five-game stay at Madison Square Garden. Poor shooting has been the main culprit, with the Liberty hitting 36.3 percent from the field and going 7 of 32 on 3-pointers during the skid.

The Liberty missed 12 of their first 16 shots Tuesday against the unbeaten Lynx, who raced out to a 17-point lead behind Maya Moore's 11 first-quarter points en route to a 79-69 victory.

'Maya was great in the first quarter and we knew they were going to try and deliver the first punch,' forward Tina Charles said.

New York didn't lose more than two straight in compiling a league-best 23-11 record during the 2015 regular season. Four of those defeats came to Indiana (3-3), which later ousted the Liberty in three games in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Fever also have endured an uneven start, though they'll be entering a two-game road trip on a positive note following Wednesday's 85-75 win over Seattle. Lynetta Kizer and rookie Tiffany Mitchell each recorded career highs with 20 and 19 points, respectively, and Indiana shot 61.8 percent in the first half on the way to halting a two-game skid.

Mitchell started a third straight game in place of a concussed Shenise Johnson and the Fever also lost guard Maggie Lucas to a torn ACL in last Friday's 74-71 loss at Minnesota. They did get Briann January back Wednesday, with the veteran point guard logging 16 minutes off the bench in her return from microfracture knee surgery.

"It's always great having Bri back," coach Stephanie White told the team's official website. "I think one of the things that she does is she is calming factor for our team. She comes on the floor and everybody sort of feels a little more at ease because she understands what we're trying to get on the offense."

January played for the first time since Indiana's 66-51 Game 3 win at Madison Square Garden in September's East finals, in which she recorded six steals and the Fever forced 21 turnovers.

Indiana held Charles to 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting, though opponents have had a hard time containing her this season. The All-Star center is averaging league highs of 23.4 points and 11.8 rebounds while posting double-doubles in all five games.

Charles hasn't had much of a supporting cast with Sugar Rodgers slumping. Since going 6 of 8 on 3s in a career-high 24-point effort against Dallas on May 15, she's shot 29.3 percent while averaging 10.7 points during the losing streak.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Sep 29, 2015 Score ATS Results
IND « 66 Cover: 19
NEW 51 Under: 117
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Sep 27, 2015 Score ATS Results
IND « 70 Cover: 10
NEW 64 Under: 134
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Sep 23, 2015 Score ATS Results
IND 67 Over: 151
NEW « 84 Cover: 15
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Sep 13, 2015 Score ATS Results
NEW 76 Cover: 0.5
IND « 81 Over: 157
Tools: Recaps

Aug 23, 2015 Score ATS Results
NEW 79 Cover: 1
IND « 80 Over: 159
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Jul 29, 2015 Score ATS Results
NEW 72 Over: 156
IND « 84 Cover: 14.5
Tools: Recaps

Jun 19, 2015 Score ATS Results
IND « 80 Cover: 20.5
NEW 63 Under: 143
Tools: Recaps

Jun 9, 2015 Score ATS Results
IND 79 Over: 165
NEW « 86 Cover: 4
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Mystics (2-5) at Sky (3-4)
Date: June 03, 2016 8:30 PM EDT

Another dismal home defeat has the Washington Mystics ready to hit the road.

They've played their best basketball away from home and look to gain a split of a home-and-home set with the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Washington (2-5) fell to 0-4 at home with Wednesday's 86-78 defeat to Chicago. The Mystics were shredded for 26 assists on the 32 baskets by the Sky.

The club may be feeling the pressure of playing at home.

"We just got to cut down on distractions I think," guard Tayler Hill said. "At some point, we've just got to come together, you know what I mean and not listen to the outside critics or the negative talk and we gotta block that out and play for us 12."

The Mystics are 2-1 on the road and have played much better basketball away from home as they start a three-game trip.

"Having two of them (the road games) be overtime games and we won them, last year we may have given some of those games away down the stretch, I think that's a huge confidence builder," coach Mike Thibault said.

Elena Delle Donne had 18 points and nine rebounds and Cappie Pondexter scored 16 in the Sky's fifth straight win over the Mystics.

Jamierra Faulkner had nine points and seven assists as she started her fifth straight game at point guard for Courtney Vandersloot, who missed three games with an ankle injury before returning for the last two off the bench. Faulkner is second in the league in field-goal percentage at 58.2.

Vandersloot had 10 points and eight assists in 16 minutes as she works her way back from the injury.

Stefanie Dolson scored 14 points while Hill made 3 of 14 shots for 11 for the Mystics, who know that they need a better defensive effort against the Sky in this rematch.

"Pressuring the ball, getting into them, making everything they do difficult and not letting them get anything easy and then offensively, just knock down open shots," Dolson said.

This is Chicago's only home game in the first 20 days of the month. The Sky have a four-game trip after this contest.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Jun 1, 2016 Score ATS Results
CHI « 86 Cover: 4
WAS 78 Over: 164
Tools: Recaps

Aug 23, 2015 Score ATS Results
CHI « 66 Cover: 4.5
WAS 64 Under: 130
Tools: Recaps

Aug 21, 2015 Score ATS Results
WAS 85 Cover: 3.5
CHI « 87 Over: 172
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Aug 2, 2015 Score ATS Results
WAS 68 Cover: 2.5
CHI « 71 Under: 139
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Jul 15, 2015 Score ATS Results
WAS 57 Under: 142
CHI « 85 Cover: 22.5
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Jun 28, 2015 Score ATS Results
CHI 71 Over: 157
WAS « 86 Cover: 14
Tools: Recaps