Cnotes 2018 wnba picks,trends,notes,news !

[StarDust Bum]

Sky ready for visit from Aces

The Las Vegas Aces will go for their third win in a row when they visit the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena.

Las Vegas (8-12) must make up ground in order to reassert itself into the WNBA's playoff picture. The Aces are coming off back-to-back, hard-earned victories that included an 84-80 win over the Sky and a 94-90 win over the Connecticut Sun.

Now comes the Aces' second meeting in less than a week against Chicago (7-12).

The Sky have withstood a streaky season that included a three-game winning streak, followed by a three-game losing streak, followed by an uplifting 77-63 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday night. Much like Las Vegas, Chicago is on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture and needs to close the season on a high note to have a shot at the postseason.

The win over the defending champion Lynx gave Sky players a boost of confidence as the season's second half continues.

"It just shows that when we put our minds to it and when we're focused and high energy that we can beat anyone in the league," Sky guard Allie Quigley told the Chicago Daily Herald. "We just have to use this as motivation to keep moving forward."

A tough test awaits as the Sky prepare to face top rookie A'ja Wilson and the Aces.

Wilson, 21, was this year's No. 1 overall pick out of South Carolina. She has averaged 21.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season while also shutting down the paint with 1.7 blocks per contest. On Monday, the young center was named as the WNBA's Western Conference player of the week after averaging 29 points and nine rebounds in her last two contests.

Kayla McBride also has shined for the Aces this season. She scored 27 points in her team's most recent win over the Sun.

"Our two horses went off again," Aces coach Bill Laimbeer to the Las Vegas Review Journal after his team's most recent win. "There's no question where our bread is buttered."

Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot said she and her teammates must maintain their focus on passing to open teammates.

"I think the ball movement was better (in our last game), and we emphasized that going into the game," Vandersloot said to the Daily Herald. "If we continue to move it, drive it, kick it, we can get wide-open shots and we can knock down those shots."

Chicago is 5-5 at home. Las Vegas is 3-7 on the road.

[StarDust Bum]

TUESDAY, JULY 10
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at SEA 03:00 PM
SEA -3.0
U 161.0

PHO at DAL 08:00 PM
DAL -2.5
O 171.0

LV at CHI 08:30 PM
LV +3.5
O 175.5

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Capsules
July 10, 2018

SEATTLE (AP) Alana Beard scored five of her 11 points in overtime including a 3-pointer that put Los Angeles ahead for good in a 77-75 victory to end Seattle's five-game win streak Tuesday.

Candace Parker led the Sparks (13-8) with 21 points. She added 10 assists and was a rebound shy of a triple-double with nine boards.

Beard's shot from behind the arc came with 3:23 left in overtime and put Los Angeles ahead 71-70. After Breanna Stewart missed a pair of shots, Beard came back with a jumper to extend the Sparks' lead.

The Storm (15-6), who lead the WNBA's Western Conference, could not respond.

Parker's turnaround hook gave the Sparks a 77-72 lead with 1:05 to play. Natasha Howard cut into the margin with a three-point play, but Seattle came no closer

Sue Bird, Howard and Stewart all missed chances to tie the game in the final seven seconds. Howard finished with 18 points for Seattle while Stewart had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

WINGS 101, MERCURY 72

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 20 points and the Wings won their fourth straight with a victory over the Mercury.

Aerial Powers added a season high 18 points, Azura Stevens scored 15 and Liz Cambage chipped in 13 for the Wings (11-8).

Dallas never trailed after the opening minutes and had its largest lead at 95-66 which they matched at the final score. The Wings pulled away with an 11-2 run near the end of the first quarter and scored 10 straight points to end the third quarter with an 80-54 lead.

The Mercury (14-7) committed 13 of its 22 turnovers in the first half and trailed 59-39 at halftime. Brittney Griner scored 21 and DeWanna Bonner added 20.

Diana Taurasi left the game due to illness in the first quarter and did not return. Phoenix has dropped the first two of a four-game road trip.

ACES 98, SKY 74

CHICAGO (AP) - Kayla McBride scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half to help the Aces take the season series against the Sky.

The Aces (9-12) outscored the Sky 32-15 in the second quarter and closed the third with an 18-2 run to make it 76-50. The Sky (7-13) got the deficit no closer than 17 in the fourth.

Las Vegas won its third in a row including an 84-80 win at home against Chicago on Thursday night. The Sky beat the Aces 95-90 on June 3.

McBride was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and the Aces were 6 of 12. Tamera Young added 16 points, Kelsey Plum scored 14 and A'ja Wilson 12.

Diamond DeShields had 15 points to lead Chicago.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
11:30 AM Atlanta Dream Washington Mystics Capital One Arena
11:30 AM New York Liberty Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
12:00 PM Minnesota Lynx Indiana Fever Bankers Life Fieldhouse


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WNBA MAY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

Totals............30 - 22 - 2...57.69%......+29.00

MAY'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS........................11 - 12.................-11.00.......................... ...18 - 8 - 1................+46.00

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WNBA JUNE RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

TOTALS................66 - 53....................55.46%.....................+ 49.50

JUNE'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS................40 - 23....................55.03%...................... +49.50

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WNBA JULY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS.

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

07/10/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/08/2018 1-4-1 20.00% -17.00
07/07/2018 2-4-0 33.33% -12.00
07/06/2018 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
07/05/2018 3-4-1 42.86% -7.00
07/03/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +8.50
07/01/2018 3-7-0 30.00% -23.50

TOTALS...........19-25.........41.30%.....-42.50


JULY'S BEST BETS:

07/10/2018.................3 - 0...............+15.00......................2- 1................+4.50.............+19.50
07/08/2018.................0 - 2...............-11.00.......................1 - 2................-6.00..............-17.00
07/07/2018.................1 - 2................-6.00........................1 - 2......,.........-6.00..............-12.00
07/06/2018.................0 - 1................-5.50........................1 - 0...............+5.00..............-0.50
07/05/2018.................2 - 1...............+4.50........................1 - 3...............-11.50.............-7.00
07/03/2018.................2 - 2................-1.00........................3 - 1...............+9.50..............+8.50
07/01/2018.................1 - 4................-17.00......................2 - 3................-6.50...............-23.50

TOTALS.......................9 - 12..............-21.00....................11 - 12..............-11.00..............-32.00

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Six NFL teams who won 4+ more games than they did in 2016:

— Jacksonville Jaguars

— Los Angeles Chargers

— Los Angeles Rams

— Minnesota Vikings

— Philadelphia Eagles

— San Francisco 49ers


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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Mid-week musings…….

13) Six NFL teams improved their win total by 4+ games last year.

Over the last 19 years, 104 teams have done that; of the 98 before last year, they mostly regressed in the third year, winning an average of 2.45 less games per season. 70 of those 98 teams won fewer games than they did in the second year, when they improved.

12) On the other hand, over those same 19 years, 104 teams have won 4+ fewer games than they did the year before, and strange as it may seem, in that third year, the 96 teams prior to LY improved by the same 2.45 wins per team that the above teams regressed by. Go figure.

11) This is one story of how difficult it is to make an NBA roster.

Kid named Isaiah Briscoe is on Orlando’s summer league team in Las Vegas; he played two years at Kentucky, scoring 9.6 ppg as a freshman, 12.1 as a sophomore, at which point he declared for the NBA, but he wasn’t drafted- doesn’t shoot the ball well enough.

Briscoe played for the 76ers’ Summer League team LY, went to training camp with the Trailblazers, but got cut— he wound up playing pro ball in Russia last winter, and did well there, scoring 18 ppg.

10) Can you imagine what it is like to be a 21-year old kid who was treated like a God for two years at Kentucky, then spending last year as an anonymous American playing in Russia?

Talk about a humbling experience; I’m sure he made decent bank over there, but it ain’t the NBA and you’re in freakin’ Russia.

Briscoe had nine points in 24:00 vs Memphis Sunday, played three scoreless minutes against the Suns Monday. Orlando is a rebuilding team, but it could be back to Russia or some other foreign country for Briscoe- where else can a 22-year old with no college degree make a six-figure salary?

9) G-League players make around $35,000, except for the two 2-way players each team can have, who make anywhere from $75K to $275K a year.

The competition for these NBA roster spots is really, really fierce.

8) USC is a football underdog twice this September; Trojans are +4 at Stanford September 8, and +4.5 at Texas Sept 15.

Going back to 2016, USC will have been an underdog in five of its last 12 September games, and that is a little surprising.

7) fanatics.com has orders for Lebron James #23 Laker jerseys from all 50 states and 90 different countries.

6) Rookie pitcher Corey Oswalt allowed one hit in six innings for the Mets Monday night, but the one hit he allowed was a bases loaded double to the opposing pitcher Aaron Nola, who was 9 for 136 hitting in his major league career.

5) Buster Posey has a problem with hip inflammation, will miss the All-Star Game; Yadier Molina takes his place on the NL roster.

4) Sacramento Kings’ top draft pick Marvin Bagley III is out for the rest of Summer League with a pelvic bone bruise. Bagley is still a kid, won’t turn 20 until next March. Takes some time for these young players to mature physically so they can compete with adults.

3) Royals’ 2B Whit Merrifield found out just before Sunday’s game that he wouldn’t be an All-Star; he went out and got five hits against the Red Sox.

Merrifield is hitting .303 this year with a .371 OB% and is now mentioned in trade rumors to lot of contending teams. He is also versatile, playing in both infield and outfield.

With Gleyber Torres hurt, Jed Lowrie was named to the AL team at 2B.

2) Reds 7, Indians 4— Cleveland led this game 4-0 in 9th inning; their bullpen has worst ERA in the major leagues, which suggests they’ll be making a trade or two for a reliever this month.

1) Congrats to the workers who rescued the 12 soccer players and their coach from the flooded caves in Thailand. Great work by those Navy SEALS.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Wednesday, July 11

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Trend Report
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New York Liberty
New York is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
New York is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games
New York is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
New York is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Connecticut
New York is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing Connecticut
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 8 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
Connecticut is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games
Connecticut is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing New York
Connecticut is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Connecticut's last 7 games when playing New York
Connecticut is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against New York
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against New York
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Connecticut's last 8 games when playing at home against New York


Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
Atlanta is 5-11-1 ATS in its last 17 games on the road
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
Atlanta is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 11 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Atlanta is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta's last 10 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Washington's last 11 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against Atlanta


Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
Minnesota is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing Indiana
Minnesota is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana Fever
Indiana is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Indiana is 2-23 SU in its last 25 games
Indiana is 4-14 SU in its last 18 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indiana's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
Indiana is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, July 11


New York @ Connecticut

Game 321-322
July 11, 2018 @ 11:30 am

Dunkel Rating:
New York
97.681
Connecticut
113.712
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 16
160
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 7 1/2
166
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(-7 1/2); Under

Atlanta @ Washington

Game 323-324
July 11, 2018 @ 11:30 am

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
101.375
Washington
117.313
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 16
158
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 7 1/2
164
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-7 1/2); Under

Minnesota @ Indiana

Game 325-326
July 11, 2018 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
110.249
Indiana
104.732
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 5 1/2
153
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 12
158
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+12); Under

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Basketball Trend Report

NEW YORK (5 - 14) at CONNECTICUT (10 - 9) - 7/11/2018, 11:30 AM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 3-10 ATS (-8.0 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 34-19 ATS (+13.1 Units) on Wednesday since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record after 15+ games after 15+ games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 105-75 ATS (+22.5 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more since 1997.
NEW YORK is 46-28 ATS (+15.2 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 5-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 5-3 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

ATLANTA (9 - 9) at WASHINGTON (12 - 7) - 7/11/2018, 11:30 AM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 6-15 ATS (-10.5 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 27-12 ATS (+13.8 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1997.
ATLANTA is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 322-379 ATS (-94.9 Units) in all games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 4-0 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 5-1 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

MINNESOTA (11 - 8) at INDIANA (2 - 17) - 7/11/2018, 12:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games this season.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 4-3 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 5-2 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

Sun return home to face Liberty

The last time the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty saw each other, Shekinna Stricklen converted a rare 4-point play at the buzzer to give Connecticut an 88-86 road victory over New York.

It was the first buzzer-beating 4-point play in WNBA history and the NBA hasn't had one since Ray Allen did it in 2012.

The win was the sixth in the first seven games for the Sun, who have gone just 4-8 in 12 games since, capped by a 1-3 trip west. They return home for a Wednesday morning (11:30) game against the struggling Liberty at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Monday, the Sun (10-9) made a move they hope will bolster their season, shipping Alex Bentley to the Atlanta Dream for All-Star Layshia Clarendon and a second-round pick in next year's draft.

"We are excited about obtaining Layshia," general manager and coach Curt Miller said. "She's a talented and savvy guard with a great reputation as a leader on and off the court. She was thrilled when we spoke, and can't wait to arrive in Connecticut."

Clarendon, one of six WNBA players to record 200 assists in a season, came off the bench in 14 of her 18 games this season. Bentley also was coming off the Sun bench.

From the Hartford Courant Monday: "According to WNBAinsidr, Bentley and Sun guard Courtney Williams were in a 'physical altercation,' which is why Williams hasn't been with the team recently despite the Sun referring to her absence as being for 'personal reasons.' The incident allegedly occurred some time between June 27 and July 1."

While the Sun closed their road trip with a 94-90 loss at Las Vegas, the Liberty (5-14) fell by 10 at home to Dallas, their third straight loss and eighth in the last nine games.

Wednesday marks the latest return to Connecticut by former UConn star Tina Charles, the 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player with the Sun. She sought a trade to go home to New York in 2014, but things have not worked out as planned -- and this is another bad season for the Liberty.

New York has been eliminated in one playoff game each of the last two years, and it will take a turnaround to even make it to the postseason in 2018.

"I haven't been on a team where I have other Olympians," Charles told Deadspin recently. "I believe in every player that's on this team, so for me, I don't see it as a challenge. That's just what I've always known... I can't think about, 'what if I was on this team, or what if I had these (teammates).' I can't think about that in the midst of what I have right now, this is the moment I'm in."

[StarDust Bum]

Dream ride into Mystics encounter with Bentley

WASHINGTON -- The Eastern Conference-leading Washington Mystics return from a West Coast trip to host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday morning at Capital One Arena.

The Mystics (12-7) defeated the Lost Angeles Sparks on Saturday 83-74 before dropping a 97-91 decision to the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

Washington led 56-48 in the third quarter at Seattle before the Storm went on a 27-10 run over the final seven minutes to lead 75-66 at the start of the fourth and held off a late Mystics rally.

"Yeah, once you get the first one you get greedy and want the second one," Mystics coach Mike Thibault said of the road swing. "We gave ourselves a chance at the start. We had a good start and when you play a back-to-back, you always wonder how you're going to start, but the third quarter was like an avalanche for about four or five minutes."

Elena Delle Donne scored 29 points against Seattle, Kristi Toliver added 18 and Ariel Atkins 17.

"We have to go home and get rested because we have a big week ahead of us," Thibault said after Sunday's game.

The Mystics face the third-place Dream (9-9) in a home-and-home twice this week sandwiched around a visit from the fourth-place Chicago Sky. Washington and Atlanta will be meeting for the first time this season.

Delle Donne was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. She averaged 20.3 points over three games, along with 5.7 rebounds. She shot 45.1 percent from the field to earn the 15th Player of the Week nod of her six-year career.

Atlanta is coming off a big win, 76-70 over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. The Dream scored the first nine points and led by as many as 23 points late in the third quarter before holding off a Phoenix surge.

Tiffany Hayes had 18 points, Renee Montgomery and Brittney Sykes added 13 points each, and Elizabeth Williams and Angel McCoughtry each scored 10 for Atlanta.

Wednesday's game marks the return of guard Alex Bentley to the Dream. Bentley was acquired Monday from the Connecticut Sun for Layshia Clarendon and a 2019 second-round WNBA Draft pick.

Bentley, who was drafted by Atlanta and played for the Dream in 2013, was averaging 10 points, 3.2 assists and 1.4 rebounds for the Sun. She has a career average of 11.0 points and has knocked down long distance shots at a 30.8 percent clip.

Dream coach Nicki Collen was an assistant with the Sun from 2015-17.

"Having had the opportunity to coach Alex Bentley in Connecticut for two seasons, I know she can be a dynamic scorer, but more importantly, she can create opportunities for her teammates because of her speed and skill with the basketball," Collen told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Washington won all three meetings last season.

[StarDust Bum]

Lynx look for consistency against Fever

The Minnesota Lynx will be looking to avenge a rare loss to the Indiana Fever when the two teams square off in a Kids Day matinee contest on Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.

The Lynx had won seven games in a row until Indiana surprised them 71-59 on July 3 in Minneapolis, in the process keeping Minnesota under 60 points on its home floor for the first time since 2010.

In the week since that game, Minnesota beat Los Angeles in a rematch of last year's WNBA championship series and then fell on the road to Chicago 77-63.

Maya Moore led the Lynx (11-8) with 16 points in the loss to Chicago but needed 16 shots to reach that total. Seimone Augustus had 11 points while Sylvia Fowles, playing against her former team, had nine points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which shot 35.5 percent from the floor and was 5 of 18 on shots from beyond the arc.

It's been an inconsistent season for the Lynx, something they are not used to and definitely won't accept.

"When you don't pay attention to detail on both ends of the floor, you're very up and down," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Sometimes you set a good screen, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you take a good shot, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you play the schemes, sometimes you don't. That leads to very up and down."

Indiana, meanwhile, would love to have the 11 wins that the Lynx have. The Fever (2-17) have just two victories on the season, one each at home and on the road, and laid its biggest egg of the year just two days after pulling off the upset of Minnesota, losing 90-63 at Dallas.

The Wings outrebounded Indiana 47-22 in Thursday's game, and handed the Fever a 27-point defeat, the club's worst of the season.

"It is difficult to win a basketball game when the rebound margin is minus-25," said Fever coach Pokey Chatman.

Indiana got 42 of its 63 points from veterans Candice Dupree, Cappie Pondexter and Natalie Achonwa in the loss to Dallas, as that trio shot 16 of 31 from the floor while the rest of the Fever team combined for 8-of-37 shooting.

"Our defense wasn't there," Dupree said after the loss to the Wings. "They beat us on the boards, they turned us over and they scored a lot of points. They had an attack mentality."

Since the Fever played in Minneapolis on July 3, Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson passed former Fever great Tamika Catchings as the WNBA's all-time rebounding leader.

Minnesota leads the overall series between the two teams 23-14 and but for the loss last Tuesday at Target Center, has dominated regular-season meetings since 2012. The Lynx have won 14 of the past 16 regular-season games since July 15, 2011.

Kids Day has annually produced some of the Fever's best attendance figures, including last season's crowd of 12,282, the largest in club history. The Fever and Lynx share home-and-road Kids Day appearances on Wednesday in Indianapolis and July 18 in Minneapolis.

[StarDust Bum]

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

NY at CONN 11:30 AM
NY +9.0
O 165.0

ATL at WAS 11:30 AM
WAS -8.0
O 161.5

MIN at IND 12:00 PM
IND +10.0
U 157.0

[StarDust Bum]

Dream cruise past Mystics, 106-89
July 11, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) Angel McCoughtry scored 24 points and Jessica Breland added a season-high 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream beat the Washington Mystics 106-89 on Wednesday.

Renee Montgomery and Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points apiece, finishing a combined 9 of 13 from 3-point range for the Dream (10-9). Breland added a career-high seven assists and blocked three shots.

Natasha Cloud led the Mystics (12-8) with 17 points and Elena Delle Donne added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Breland and Hayes scored five points each during a 10-0 run that gave the Dream a 44-34 lead midway through the second quarter.

Atlanta, which made 11 of 18 3-pointers and shot 60 percent from the field, led 59-50 at halftime before a day game youth crowd of 11,354.

The Mystics pulled within seven points after Delle Donne's layup to open the fourth quarter, but McCoughtry scored six straight points for a 65-52 lead with eight minutes left.


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Zellous hits 3 at buzzer, Liberty beat Sun
July 11, 2018

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Shavonte Zellous banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the New York Liberty past the Connecticut Sun 79-76 on Wednesday.

Tina Charles led New York with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Epiphanny Prince scored 15 and Zellous finished with 14.

Brittany Boyd found Prince for a 3-pointer in the corner to tie it at 76 with 24.3 seconds left. After Connecticut's Jasmine Thomas missed a 3, the Liberty (6-14) called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left. Zellous hit her only 3-point attempt in the game, finishing 6 of 7 from the field.

Chiney Ogwumike had 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting and nine rebounds, while Courtney Williams scored 16 points for the Sun (10-10). Alyssa Thomas, who returned from a 10-game absence because of a shoulder injury, added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Connecticut led by as many as 10 points before a day-game crowd of 7,413. Rachel Banham's 3-pointer gave the Sun a 74-69 lead with 2:50 left.

New York snapped a three-game skid, winning for just the second time in the last 10 games.


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Robinson hits her 1st trey, Lynx top Fever
July 11, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Sylvia Fowles had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Maya Moore added 19 points to help the Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 87-65 on Wednesday.

Danielle Robinson made her first 3-pointer to end a 0-for-39 drought in her seven-year WNBA career. She finished with 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 2 from behind the arc.

Minnesota (12-8) led 10-2 and never trailed. Moore hit a jumper to push the lead to 15 points before Kelsey Mitchell made three 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that trimmed Indiana's deficit to 31-27 midway through the second quarter.

The Lynx scored 13 of the next 15 points.

Erica Wheeler led Indiana (2-18) with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mitchell finished with 11 points and Natalie Achonwa 10.

Minnesota shot 51.6 percent from the field despite going 4 of 16 from 3-point range. The Lynx made 17 of 19 free throws.

Indiana, which beat the Lynx 71-59 on July 3, has lost eight of its last nine games.

[StarDust Bum]

Thursday’s 6-pack

Six NFL teams who won 4+ more games than they did in 2016:

— Jacksonville Jaguars

— Los Angeles Chargers

— Los Angeles Rams

— Minnesota Vikings

— Philadelphia Eagles

— San Francisco 49ers

Quote of the Day
“We used to have this sports ticker and this roll of paper that would keep spitting out. And at that time, it made a bit of a racket, but if you were doing it long enough—it was a dot-matrix printer. If you did it long enough and you were sitting next to this thing for hours upon end like I was, a home run had a certain rhythm to it. You know somebody hit a home run, not even by looking at it, just by hearing how that thing was going—’oh, that’s a home run, I better check that out.’”
Mets radio engineer/producer Chris Majkowski

Thursday’s quiz
Who is the only person in NBA history to lead the league in 2-point FG% one year and 3-point %age in another year?

Wednesday’s quiz
Carlton Fisk (43) is the oldest player to get a hit in an All-Star Game.

Tuesday’s quiz
In the famous movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was from Kansas.

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

Thursday’s List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud…….

13) You look at the benches in the NBA Summer League and you see two rows of coaches, maybe 8-9 coaches for each team. NBA teams spend lot of money on player development, which is more important now because players come into the league younger than ever before.

One of the first books I remember reading was The Open Man, Dave DeBusschere’s diary of the Knicks’ 1969-70 title team. For a 12-year old kid who was falling in love with basketball, I went thru that book pretty quickly.

One thing that stands out now was that coach Red Holzman had NO ASSISTANT COACHES; Dick McGuire was his advance scout and trainer Danny Whalen kept track of timeouts and served as an assistant coach of sorts, but Holzman did all the actual coaching.

The game has changed drastically in that regard.

12) George Karl’s son Coby is on the Lakers’ bench coaching during summer league; he is also the all-time leading scorer in Las Vegas Summer League history, with 337 points. Archie Goodwin is next, at 318 points.

11) Miami Marlins were 23-42 on June 10, but since then, they’re 15-14, hanging in there and hitting the ball well- they had 22 hits in a game in Washington Sunday. Don Mattingly has done a fine job keeping a talent-shy roster competitive in games.

10) Cincinnati Bengals may have seen one of the errors of their ways; they were 31st last year in $$$ spent on their offensive line, letting LT Andrew Whitworth bolt to the Rams.

Bengals are now 22nd in OL spending for this coming season; they hope it results in a QB who gets hit a lot less this season.

9) San Diego Padres lost their last 13 games against Clayton Kershaw, scoring a total of 12 runs off Kershaw in those 13 games.

8) An unnamed AL scout after watching the Kansas City Royals recently:

“I think someone will bite on Lucas Duda as a lefty bat off the bench. They won’t get enough for Duffy or Merrifield to move them. They’ll definitely move Moustakas and he will help someone. Won’t get the big return. Doesn’t happen anymore.”

7) Houston Astros’ contract situation in the near future:
— Verlander, $28M a year thru 2019 (Detroit is paying $8M of that)
— McCann, $17M with an option after this year (NYY is paying $5.5M of that)
— Keuchel, $13.2M, free agent this season
— Reddick, $13M a year thru 2020 (yikes)
— Gurriel, $12.4M this year, $10.4M in ’19, $8.4M in ’20.
— Altuve, $9M this year and next, then a $29M/year deal kicks in
— Morton $7M, free agent after this season
— Cole $6.75M, arbitration this winter, then free agent after 2019.
— Carlos Correa isn’t a free agent until after 2021
— Alex Bregman isn’t a free agent until after 2022

Astros have some serious decisions to make about their starting pitchers this winter; their young position players are going to keep Houston strong for a long time.

6) When the Indians blew a 4-0 ninth inning lead in a 7-4 to the Reds Tuesday, it was in large part the manager’s fault. Terry Francona told pitching coach Carl Willis to get “OP” up in the bullpen, he meant Oliver Perez, but Willis thought he said “OT” meaning Dan Otero, so Willis told the bullpen coach to get Otero warmed up.

Few minutes later, Francona went to the mound, waved to the bullpen for a pitching change and was surprised to see Otero come to the mound instead of Perez. Whoops.

5) Baseball doings:
— Indians’ OF Lonnie Chisenhall (calf) is out 8-10 weeks.

4) Injury-plagued Duke alum Harry Giles, who Sacramento drafted in 2017 despite having two ACL injuries before getting to the NBA, has played 23.3 mpg in his first three summer league games this month, scoring 12 ppg, grabbing 7.5 rpg.

3) There are 19 Kansas Jayhawk alums playing in Las Vegas this week.

2) There is guy named Chris Majkowski who is a radio engineer for Mets’ games and he has worked 4,011 consecutive games, dating back to 1993- imagine not missing one day of work for 25 years? Majkowski threw out the first pitch before the Mets’ game Wednesday.

1) Astros’ closer Ken Giles blew a 9th-inning lead Tuesday, appeared to curse out manager AJ Hinch when he was removed from the game, then was sent to AAA today. Alrighty then.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, July 12


Dallas @ Los Angeles

Game 601-602
July 12, 2018 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
110.007
Los Angeles
119.491
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 9 1/2
154
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 7
164 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-7); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, July 12

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DALLAS (11 - 8) at LOS ANGELES (13 - 8) - 7/12/2018, 3:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games in July games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 37-25 ATS (+9.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 31-20 ATS (+9.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 13-6 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games this season.
DALLAS is 13-6 ATS (+6.4 Units) in May, June, or July games this season.
DALLAS is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 6-3 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 6-3 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Thursday, July 12

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Trend Report
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Dallas Wings
Dallas is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Dallas's last 10 games
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Los Angeles
Dallas is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Dallas's last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
Dallas is 12-4-2 ATS in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Dallas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
Los Angeles is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
Los Angeles is 15-5-1 ATS in its last 21 games at home
Los Angeles is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Los Angeles's last 13 games at home
Los Angeles is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Los Angeles is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Los Angeles's last 10 games when playing Dallas
Los Angeles is 4-12-2 ATS in its last 18 games when playing at home against Dallas
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas