The Bum's 2017 WNBA Picks-Trends-News !

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sun (7-7) at Fever (7-7)
Date: July 01, 2017 4:00 PM EDT

The Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever each will try to climb above .500 when they meet Saturday evening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Both teams are 7-7 this season and searching for their second win in a row.

If Saturday's game is anything like the teams' first matchup of the season, fans should be in for a good show. Indiana outlasted Connecticut for an 81-79 win on May 20 in Indianapolis.

In that game, Candice Dupree led the Fever with 19 points and six rebounds. The Sun were led by Jonquel Jones, who scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as part of a double-double.

"When you value the basketball, you will have good opportunities for success," Fever coach Pokey Chatman said to the team's official website after a win this week over the Chicago Sky. "Despite a lack of flow, we found a way to hit a few shots and really grind it out. Sometimes when things don't go all right, those are the best wins."

The Fever boast a 5-2 record on their home court. Meanwhile, Connecticut is 4-4 on the road.

The Sun will try to build upon a dominant 104-71 win over the Atlanta Dream in their most recent game a week ago. Connecticut rolled to a big win despite the absence of Morgan Tuck (knee contusion), Lynetta Kizer (back) and Alex Bentley, who is competing for Belarus in a tournament overseas.

"I am really proud of our team," Sun coach and general manager Curt Miller told the team's official website. "It has been a tough stretch of adversity for our team and then another injury, to Lynetta, right after we traded Jordan Hooper. We are down in numbers, but we had good days of practice. They bought into the game plan."

Connecticut likely will pose a tough challenge for Indiana on defense. The Sun are averaging 86.1 points per game this season, which ranks second in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Fever's defense has proved to be leaky at times as opponents have averaged 84.8 points per game.

Indiana is averaging 79.6 points per game, which ranks in the bottom half of the league. The Sun have allowed 82.8 points per game on defense.

Dupree leads the Sun with 14.1 points per game. She is shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Tiffany Mitchell (11.5 points), Erica Wheeler (11.0) and Shenise Johnson (10.1) also are averaging in double figures for the Fever. Briann January is not far behind with 9.5 points per game.

For Connecticut, Jones is averaging a double-double with 15.1 points and 12.1 rebounds. Four others are averaging double-digit scoring, including Jasmine Thomas (14.8), Alyssa Thomas (13.8), Courtney Williams (12.6) and Tuck (11.8).

The teams are scheduled to meet one more time during the regular season. On July 30, the series will shift northeast for the third and final matchup between the Fever and Sun.

WNB HEAD TO HEAD

May 20, 2017 Score ATS Results
CONN 79 Cover: 4.5
IND « 81 Under: 160
Tools: Recaps

Sep 13, 2016 Score ATS Results
IND 87 Over: 176
CONN « 89 Cover: 1
Tools: Recaps

Jul 13, 2016 Score ATS Results
CONN « 86 Cover: 30
IND 64 Under: 150
Tools: Recaps

Jun 5, 2016 Score ATS Results
IND « 88 Cover: 5
CONN 77 Over: 165
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Storm (6-8) at Wings (8-8)
Date: July 01, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

It hasn't taken very long for the Dallas Wings to turn their struggles into prosperity.

In a span of two weeks, the Wings went from losing six of seven games to owning the WNBA's fourth-highest win total and second-longest winning streak at four games.

Skylar Diggins-Smith and the Wings hope to build on their success when they host the struggling Seattle Storm on Saturday night at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Dallas (8-8) padded its winning streak by beating the red-hot Connecticut Sun 96-82 at home last Sunday.

The Sun had won five straight coming in, but the Wings benefitted from a balanced scoring attack -- with five players in double figures, led by Karima Christmas-Kelly's 24 points.

"We're seeing a lot of different people stepping up now," said Christmas-Kelly, who was aided by Theresa Plaisance (16 points, nine rebounds), Glory Johnson (15 points) and Diggins-Smith (15 points, nine assists).

Diggins-Smith's 17.6 points per game ranks seventh in the WNBA, and the Wings' average of 85.1 points ranks fourth in the league.

Seattle (6-8) dropped its third straight game Thursday in Connecticut, a 96-89 loss to the Sun.

The Storm were behind 83-66 with 7:13 remaining but charged back with a 17-2 run and trailed 90-89 with 1:19 left before falling short.

"We knew they had another run in them ... and they came at us hard," Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas said of Seattle's late surge.

Breanna Stewart had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jewell Loyd scored 21. Sue Bird added 16 points and dished out five assists to move within two assists of 2,500 for her career.

Bird, in her 15th WNBA season, trails only Ticha Penicheiro (2,599) on the league's all-time assists list.

Seattle is 1-5 on the road this season, but its lone win away from home did come in Texas as it topped the winless San Antonio Stars 85-76 on June 6.

Saturday's game is the first of three meetings between the Storm and Wings this season.

WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Aug 31, 2016 Score ATS Results
DAL 66 Under: 144
SEA « 78 Cover: 7
Tools: Recaps

Jun 30, 2016 Score ATS Results
DAL « 83 Cover: 5
SEA 78 Under: 161
Tools: Recaps

Jun 16, 2016 Score ATS Results
SEA 79 Over: 167
DAL « 88 Cover: 3.5
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY, JULY 1

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CONN at IND 04:00 PM

IND +3.0

U 166.5

SEA at DAL 08:00 PM

DAL -4.0

O 173.5

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Capsules
July 1, 2017

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Breanna Stewart scored a season-high 30 points and the Seattle Storm snapped a three-game losing streak with an 89-69 victory over the Dallas Wings on Saturday night.

Stewart grabbed 10 rebounds and made 13 of 21 shots with Seattle (7-8) hitting 57 percent from the field. Crystal Langhorne added 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Sue Bird scored 12 points and had eight assists for 2,506 in her career, second-highest in WNBA history behind Ticha Penicheiro with 2,599. Alysha Clark added 10 points in reaching the 1,000 career mark.

Dallas (8-9), which had a four-game win streak snapped, was just 1 of 17 from 3-point range. Glory Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Allisha Gray added 15 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith 13.

Seattle used a 12-4 run, capped by a 3-point play by Stewart, to lead 19-17 after the first quarter and led 47-38 at halftime behind 18 points from Stewart. They padded the lead by 10 after three quarters and were up by as many as 23 in the final quarter.

The win was only Seattle's second on the road in seven games with the other victory also coming in Texas at San Antonio.

SUN 91, FEVER 85

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Jonquel Jones scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Jasmine Thomas added 22 points to lead the Sun to a win over the Fever.

Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 47.3 seconds left to put the Sun up 88-85 and the Fever missed three shots on their next possession. Indiana had to foul twice before Jones went to the free throw line with 11.4 seconds to go. She made the second free to make it a two possession game.

The Fever then turned the ball over and Thomas iced the game with two more free throws with 4.1 seconds left.

Jones, the league-leading rebounder at 12.1, had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Connecticut (8-7) built a 13-point lead before settling for a 47-40 halftime lead.

Indiana (7-8), which made the first basket of the game, took its second lead on a pair of Erlana Larkins free throws that made it 81-80 with 2:48 to play.

Shenise Johnson had 22 points for the Fever and Candice Dupree had 14 with 11 rebounds.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JULY 2, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:00 PM Washington Mystics Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
6:00 PM New York Liberty Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM Atlanta Dream Dallas Wings College Park Center
8:00 PM Connecticut Sun San Antonio Stars AT&T Center
10:00 PM Washington Mystics Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:30 PM Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Target Center
10:00 PM New York Liberty Seattle Storm KeyArena

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JULY 7, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:30 PM Indiana Fever Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
8:00 PM Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Stars AT&T Center

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JULY 8, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:00 PM Minnesota Lynx Chicago Sky Allstate Arena
9:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Seattle Storm KeyArena

Updated Sun Jul 2 12:04 AM EDT

***************************

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Rank Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK

#1 Minnesota Lynx12 1 0.923 - 6-0 5-1 7-0 9-1 W 3

#2 Los Angeles Sparks11 3 0.786 1.5 5-1 6-0 5-3 9-1 W 7

#3 Washington Mystics10 5 0.667 3 7-0 7-2 3-3 7-3 W 3

#4 New York Liberty7 6 0.538 5 1-3 5-3 2-3 5-5 L 2

#5 Phoenix Mercury7 6 0.538 5 3-4 3-4 4-2 5-5 L 1

#6 Connecticut Sun8 7 0.533 5 5-3 3-3 5-4 7-3 W 2

#7 Dallas Wings8 9 0.471 6 5-5 4-5 4-4 5-5 L 1

#8 Seattle Storm7 8 0.467 6 3-3 5-3 2-5 3-7 W 1

#9 Indiana Fever7 8 0.467 6 4-2 5-3 2-5 5-5 L 1

#10 Atlanta Dream5 7 0.417 6.5 2-6 2-3 3-4 3-7 L 3

#11 Chicago Sky3 12 0.200 10 2-7 0-7 3-5 2-8 L 3

#12 San Antonio Stars1 14 0.067 12 0-9 1-6 0-8 1-9 W 1

[StarDust Bum]

Sparks after 7th straight victory in rematch with Mystics

The Los Angeles Sparks will be seeking their seventh consecutive victory when they play host to the Washington Mystics in a battle of playoff contenders Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles (11-3) is second in the WNBA's Western Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks are 6-0 at home this season and 8-2 in their last 10 games.

Washington (10-5) is first in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the New York Liberty. The Mystics have won three in a row and seven of their last 10 games, but they are only 3-3 on the road.

Los Angeles, the defending WNBA champion, went 4-3 to start the season, but the Sparks have played much better defensively in recent weeks. They are coming off back-to-back road wins after beating Indiana 84-73 and Connecticut 87-79.

Nneka Ogwumike, the reigning WNBA MVP, collected 21 points and nine rebounds in the win over Connecticut. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and five assists. Candace Parker added 14 points with seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

Gray has emerged as one of the league's top point guards since moving into a starting role this season. Gray took over after Kristi Toliver left Los Angeles to sign with Washington.

"I knew I had to come in with a mindset of being better than I was last season, and that's been my focus," Gray told ESPN.com. "I just felt a sense of responsibility to make sure things run smoothly at the point guard position. That's your job each and every night you step out."

Washington is coming off a 67-54 victory over New York. Elena Delle Donne and reserve Ivory Latta scored 15 points apiece for the Mystics, whose starters combined to make only 10 of 41 shots from the field.

Mystics coach Mike Thibault credited Latta and the rest of his bench, which accounted for 30 points on 11-of-27 shooting.

"Tonight we set basketball back about 20 years offensively," Thibault told the Washington Post. "We've won three games already where we've shot terribly but figured out a way to win. Our bench bailed us out."

Los Angeles and Washington are meeting for the second time this season. Ogwumike scored 23 points and rookie Sydney Wiese came off the bench to score 22, helping the Sparks beat the Mystics 99-89 on May 19 in Los Angeles.

The Sparks shot 54.8 percent from the field and made 10 of 21 from 3-point range in that game.

[StarDust Bum]

Liberty continue road trip at Dream

The New York Liberty are in the midst of the toughest stretch of their schedule. And it's taking a toll.

The Liberty, losers of three of four, will try to turn things around against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. It's the second of a four-game road trip for New York, which will head west to take on Seattle and Phoenix next week.

"It's a long road trip," Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer told the team's website. "But sometimes that can be a positive. It gives the chance for players to bond on the road and a good comraderie can develop."

The Dream just returned from a difficult road trip of their own and were hoping to turn things around at home. But they've dropped back-to-back home games and have lost six of seven overall.

Atlanta gave up an 18-2 run to open the third quarter in Friday's 85-76 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks.

"One thing I tell my team is you can't give up these home games," Dream coach Michael Cooper said after the loss to the Sparks. "It's tough playing on the road, we've already experienced that. But home court, you've got to take care of that and make those changes out there on the road. But we'll get better."

Like the Dream, New York struggled coming out of halftime in its most recent game, a 67-54 loss at the Washington Mystics. The Liberty scored just seven points in the third quarter against the Mystics and committed 19 turnovers.

"On the road you have to more focus," Laimbeer said. "You can't turn the ball over; you can't make as many mistakes."

The Liberty pounded the Dream on the backboards in a 76-61 win on June 7. Tina Charles dominated with 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Kiah Stokes pulled down a career-high 17 boards against Atlanta. New York outrebounded the Dream 48-35 and pestered Atlanta into 27.6 percent shooting.

The Liberty are leading the WNBA in rebounding this season and have won five of the last six meetings with the Dream.

Tiffany Hayes leads Atlanta in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. Rookie guard Brittney Sykes has been a spark plug and got the start against Los Angeles on Friday.

[StarDust Bum]

Sunday’s six-pack

— Amir Johnson gets $11M for one year from Philly; he has earned $65M in a 12-year career, as one of the last guys to go directly from HS to the pros.

— Mets 7, Phillies 6— Asdrubel Cabrera hit the GW homer on his bobblehead day.

— Singer Bruce Hornsby’s son Keith is on the Dallas Mavericks’ summer league team; he played college ball at LSU.

— Over last six years, Iona and Cal-Northridge have had 16 players transfer into their basketball programs, most in the country.

— North Carolina is only D-I basketball program in the country that hasn’t had a player transfer out in the last six years.

— There were 1,101 home runs hit in the major leagues in June, the most ever in one month, passing May of 2000, when 1,069 taters were hit.

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Sunday’s List of 13: Random thoughts on a summer day……

13) I spent a few days in Boston in August, 2003, saw the A’s play twice at Fenway Park.

One of the things I remember most about the trip is that after the game the first night, the newspaper the next day had 8 PAGES OF RED SOX COVERAGE after a Tuesday night game in August, and this was the year before they won their first World Series in 86 years.

My point is this: If David Price has a thin skin with media coverage, he is in exactly the wrong city. Price is making $30M+ for the next six years, and with that comes scrutiny and praise and if things don’t go well, criticism.

Take some of that $30M and buy some Bose headphones, to drown out the noise.

12) Red Sox manager John Farrell was in Kansas City Saturday to see his son Luke make his major league debut on the mound for the Royals; he got KO’d by the Twins in the 3rd inning. While that was going on, the Red Sox won 5-0 in Toronto without their manager.

I was surprised after reading that Farrell got the day off to go to Kansas City for the day, with the Red Sox in the pennant race and all.

11) Quote/Tweet of the Day, part 2:
“I strongly suggest that a young baseball pitcher NOT throw a curveball until they are 14 or 15 yrs old to protect your growth plate.”
Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, owner of one of the best curveballs ever

10) Jose Abreu’s first 13 home runs this year came on the road, but he homered at home the last two days. When the weather heats up, so does Abreu’s bat- he should be play for Arizona or Miami, where it is always hot.

9) Chicago Bears were -20 in turnovers last year, are 14-34 the last three years, and now have all-new QB’s this season. No pressure on John Fox……..think of the Rams last year. Jeff Fisher on a hot seat with a similar QB situation; it didn’t end well.

8) Braves’ 3B coach Ron Washington is a great infield instructor and from all accounts, also a terrific guy- he worked for the A’s for a long time. Three hours before the Braves-A’s game Saturday, he was hitting grounders in foul territory down the first base line to a teenager, the son of A’s groundskeeper Clay Wood, helping him get better. Cool thing to see.

7) It still boggles my mind that Steph Curry will now make $40M a year , though Zack Greinke makes $34.4M and he will only pitch 32 games at most this year.

6) They drew 14,014 fans at a minor league game in Sacramento Friday night to see Madison Bumgarner throw in a rehab start. Bumgarner threw 3.2 innings.

5) NBA doings:
— Minnesota signed PG Jeff Teague for three years, $57M
— Golden State gave Shaun Livingston $24M for three years; he started a total of eight games the last three years, played 17.7 mpg LY.
— Clippers re-signed Blake Griffin for five years, $173M. Griffin missed 80 games the last three seasons, when the Clippers were 12-15 in playoff games.
— Jrue Holiday gets five years, $126M to stay in New Orleans.
— JJ Redick gets $23M for one year from the 76ers. JJ Redick. $23M. Oy.

4) Quote of the Day, part 3, from an NBA scout:
“When you’re watching a game live, you aren’t necessarily looking at the game. You’re looking at how the player warms up, how he reacts when the team is losing, how he reacts to the coach yelling at him, how he interacts with his teammates, whether he has confrontations with the referee or fans, how he acts during timeouts, how he handles being benched. There are so many things that you’re watching for that have nothing to do with the player’s skills.”

3) If you’re an NBA fan, the Orlando summer league is on NBA TV the next few days, then the Las Vegas summer league kicks off Friday, with 24 teams in it.

2) I write this once a year and it remains true; every high school/college basketball player should watch the NBA summer leagues, if only for a little while, so they can see firsthand how difficult it is to make it to the NBA and then make a roster for good.

Watch for a little while, then go find a gym and work on your game. A lot.

1) July 1 was Canada Day and it is also Bobby Bonilla-gets-paid Day; every July 1 from now until 2035, Bonilla will get $1.19M from the Mets.

Mets released Bonilla in January 2000 even though they still owed him $5.9 million in salary. Rather than accept the $5.9 million up front, Bonilla agreed to defer the money in exchange for 8% interest- the first payment came in 2011, by which time the $5.9M had grown to $29.8M.

Owner of the Mets, by the way, is the head of baseball’s Finance Committee.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Sunday, July 2

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Trend Report
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5:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. LOS ANGELES
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Washington's last 25 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Washington
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington

6:00 PM
NEW YORK vs. ATLANTA
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games
New York is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Atlanta's last 19 games when playing at home against New York


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, July 2


New York @ Atlanta

Game 673-674
July 2, 2017 @ 6:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New York
112.801
Atlanta
104.888
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
New York
by 8
163
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York
by 2
156 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
New York
(-2); Over

Washington @ Los Angeles

Game 671-672
July 2, 2017 @ 5:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
112.590
Los Angeles
122.680
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 10
160
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 5 1/2
165 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-5 1/2); Under

-------------------------------------

WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, July 2

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WASHINGTON (10 - 5) at LOS ANGELES (11 - 3) - 7/2/2017, 5:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 302-357 ATS (-90.7 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 20-37 ATS (-20.7 Units) in road games on Sunday games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 176-223 ATS (-69.3 Units) after a division game since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 12-26 ATS (-16.6 Units) after allowing 55 points or less since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 59-90 ATS (-40.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 53-76 ATS (-30.6 Units) in home games against Eastern conference opponents since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 53-76 ATS (-30.6 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 71-99 ATS (-37.9 Units) in home games after allowing 75 points or more since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 171-218 ATS (-68.8 Units) after scoring 75 points or more since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 83-117 ATS (-45.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 5-1 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 5-1 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NEW YORK (7 - 6) at ATLANTA (5 - 7) - 7/2/2017, 6:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 102-66 ATS (+29.4 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more since 1997.
NEW YORK is 38-20 ATS (+16.0 Units) after scoring 55 points or less since 1997.
ATLANTA is 10-20 ATS (-12.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 6-3 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 7-2 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Mystics (10-5) at Sparks (11-3)
Date: July 02, 2017 5:00 PM EDT

The Los Angeles Sparks will be seeking their seventh consecutive victory when they play host to the Washington Mystics in a battle of playoff contenders Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles (11-3) is second in the WNBA's Western Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks are 6-0 at home this season and 8-2 in their last 10 games.

Washington (10-5) is first in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the New York Liberty. The Mystics have won three in a row and seven of their last 10 games, but they are only 3-3 on the road.

Los Angeles, the defending WNBA champion, went 4-3 to start the season, but the Sparks have played much better defensively in recent weeks. They are coming off back-to-back road wins after beating Indiana 84-73 and Connecticut 87-79.

Nneka Ogwumike, the reigning WNBA MVP, collected 21 points and nine rebounds in the win over Connecticut. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and five assists. Candace Parker added 14 points with seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

Gray has emerged as one of the league's top point guards since moving into a starting role this season. Gray took over after Kristi Toliver left Los Angeles to sign with Washington.

"I knew I had to come in with a mindset of being better than I was last season, and that's been my focus," Gray told ESPN.com. "I just felt a sense of responsibility to make sure things run smoothly at the point guard position. That's your job each and every night you step out."

Washington is coming off a 67-54 victory over New York. Elena Delle Donne and reserve Ivory Latta scored 15 points apiece for the Mystics, whose starters combined to make only 10 of 41 shots from the field.

Mystics coach Mike Thibault credited Latta and the rest of his bench, which accounted for 30 points on 11-of-27 shooting.

"Tonight we set basketball back about 20 years offensively," Thibault told the Washington Post. "We've won three games already where we've shot terribly but figured out a way to win. Our bench bailed us out."

Los Angeles and Washington are meeting for the second time this season. Ogwumike scored 23 points and rookie Sydney Wiese came off the bench to score 22, helping the Sparks beat the Mystics 99-89 on May 19 in Los Angeles.

The Sparks shot 54.8 percent from the field and made 10 of 21 from 3-point range in that game.

WNB HEAD TO HEAD

May 19, 2017 Score ATS Results
WAS 89 Over: 188
LOS « 99 Cover: 5
Tools: Recaps

Jul 22, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 95 Cover: 11
WAS 75 Over: 170
Tools: Recaps

Jul 10, 2016 Score ATS Results
WAS 82 Over: 175
LOS « 93 Cover: 1.5
Tools: Recaps

May 20, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 97 Cover: 23
WAS 67 Over: 164
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Liberty (7-6) at Dream (5-7)
Date: July 02, 2017 6:00 PM EDT

The New York Liberty are in the midst of the toughest stretch of their schedule. And it's taking a toll.

The Liberty, losers of three of four, will try to turn things around against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. It's the second of a four-game road trip for New York, which will head west to take on Seattle and Phoenix next week.

"It's a long road trip," Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer told the team's website. "But sometimes that can be a positive. It gives the chance for players to bond on the road and a good comraderie can develop."

The Dream just returned from a difficult road trip of their own and were hoping to turn things around at home. But they've dropped back-to-back home games and have lost six of seven overall.

Atlanta gave up an 18-2 run to open the third quarter in Friday's 85-76 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks.

"One thing I tell my team is you can't give up these home games," Dream coach Michael Cooper said after the loss to the Sparks. "It's tough playing on the road, we've already experienced that. But home court, you've got to take care of that and make those changes out there on the road. But we'll get better."

Like the Dream, New York struggled coming out of halftime in its most recent game, a 67-54 loss at the Washington Mystics. The Liberty scored just seven points in the third quarter against the Mystics and committed 19 turnovers.

"On the road you have to more focus," Laimbeer said. "You can't turn the ball over; you can't make as many mistakes."

The Liberty pounded the Dream on the backboards in a 76-61 win on June 7. Tina Charles dominated with 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Kiah Stokes pulled down a career-high 17 boards against Atlanta. New York outrebounded the Dream 48-35 and pestered Atlanta into 27.6 percent shooting.

The Liberty are leading the WNBA in rebounding this season and have won five of the last six meetings with the Dream.

Tiffany Hayes leads Atlanta in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. Rookie guard Brittney Sykes has been a spark plug and got the start against Los Angeles on Friday.


WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Jun 7, 2017 Score ATS Results
ATL 61 Under: 137
NEW « 76 Cover: 10.5
Tools: Recaps

Jul 13, 2016 Score ATS Results
ATL 62 Under: 148
NEW « 86 Cover: 18.5
Tools: Recaps

Jun 22, 2016 Score ATS Results
NEW « 90 Cover: 8.5
ATL 79 Over: 169
Tools: Recaps

May 24, 2016 Score ATS Results
ATL « 85 Cover: 13.5
NEW 79 Over: 164
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

NBA Washington Mystics v Los Angeles Sparks OV 166.5 1.90

NBA Los Angeles Sparks -6 1.90

NBA New York Liberty -3.5 1.95

NBA New York Liberty v Atlanta Dream UN 156 1.90

King of Covers doesn't seem to be working.....so here is what am going with.....

[StarDust Bum]

SUNDAY, JULY 2

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

WAS at LA 05:00 PM

LA -6.5

O 167.5

NY at ATL 06:00 PM

NY -5.0

U 155.0

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Capsules
July 2, 2017

LOS ANGELES (AP) Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray scored 17 points apiece and the Los Angeles Sparks rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Washington Mystics 76-69 on Sunday.

Parker grabbed 11 rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike - who played the entire second half with four fouls - had 15 points and Alana Beard added 13 for Los Angeles (12-3). The Sparks have won six in a row against the Mystics and eight straight overall.

Washington (10-6) led 47-30 at the break and had a 14-point lead with six minutes left in the third quarter after Krystal Thomas' putback of her own missed layup. Riquna Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite a 20-4 run that gave L.A. its first lead since the opening minutes, 59-57 with 8:30 remaining. Parker scored seven points during that stretch and the Sparks never again trailed.

Kristi Tolliver's running bank shot made it 69-all with 3:03 left but Beard answered with a jumper and the Mystics went 0 for 8 from the field - and had a shot-clock violation - from there.

Elena Delle Donne led Washington with 22 points, but scored just two in the final 17-plus minutes.

The Mystics had their three-game win streak snapped.

DREAM 81, LIBERTY 72

ATLANTA (AP) - Brittney Sykes had a career-best 19 points and nine rebounds, Layshia Clarendon added 15 points and nine assists and the Atlanta Dream beat the Liberty to snap a three-game skid.

Tiffany Hayes and Bria Holmes scored 11 points apiece for Atlanta (6-7).

Kia Vaughn's basket gave New York (7-7) a 2-0 lead but Atlanta answered with an 8-0 run and never again trailed. Damiris Dantas hit a 3-pointer to cap a 19-5 run and give the Dream a 27-13 lead late in the first quarter and a jumper by Sancho Lyttle made it 40-20 midway through the second. Sugar Rogers scored all of her 11 points, including three 3s, in the fourth quarter and the Liberty twice trimmed the deficit to six points in the closing minutes, but would get no closer.

Tina Charles scored 21 points to lead New York, which has lost four of five.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM Atlanta Dream Dallas Wings College Park Center
8:00 PM Connecticut Sun San Antonio Stars AT&T Center
10:00 PM Washington Mystics Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:30 PM Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Target Center
10:00 PM New York Liberty Seattle Storm KeyArena

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JULY 7, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:30 PM Indiana Fever Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
8:00 PM Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Stars AT&T Center

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JULY 8, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:00 PM Minnesota Lynx Chicago Sky Allstate Arena
9:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Seattle Storm KeyArena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JULY 9, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Dallas Wings Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
6:00 PM New York Liberty Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

Updated Mon Jul 3 2:04 AM EDT

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LEAGUE STANDINGS

Rank Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK

#1 Minnesota Lynx2 1 0.923 - 6-0 5-1 7-0 9-1 W 3

#2 Los Angeles Sparks12 3 0.800 1 5-1 7-0 5-3 9-1 W 8

#3 Washington Mystics10 6 0.625 3.5 7-0 7-2 3-4 6-4 L 1

#4 Phoenix Mercury7 6 0.538 5 3-4 3-4 4-2 5-5 L 1

#5 Connecticut Sun8 7 0.533 5 5-3 3-3 5-4 7-3 W 2

#6 New York Liberty7 7 0.500 5.5 1-4 5-3 2-4 5-5 L 3

#7 Dallas Wings8 9 0.471 6 5-5 4-5 4-4 5-5 L 1

#8 Seattle Storm7 8 0.467 6 3-3 5-3 2-5 3-7 W 1

#9 Indiana Fever7 8 0.467 6 4-2 5-3 2-5 5-5 L 1

#10 Atlanta Dream6 7 0.462 6 3-6 3-3 3-4 4-6 W 1

#11 Chicago Sky3 12 0.200 10 2-7 0-7 3-5 2-8 L 3

#12 San Antonio Stars1 14 0.067 12 0-9 1-6 0-8 1-9 W 1