Cnotes 2018 wnba picks,trends,notes,news !

[StarDust Bum]

Wings try to catch Sparks in standings

Dallas and Los Angeles will meet for the third and final time during the regular season when the Wings visit the Sparks on Thursday at Staples Center.

The Wings soundly defeated the Sparks 101-72 on June 22 in Dallas in the first meeting. Four days later, the Sparks avenged that loss with an 87-83 win at home.

Los Angeles is coming off a 77-75 overtime win on Tuesday against the league's first-place team, Seattle. The road win snapped an uncharacteristic losing streak, which had reached four games.

Dallas also won last time out. The Wings are the hottest team in the league, having won four straight, including a 29-point win over Phoenix, which is one game behind Seattle.

Despite the winning streak, the Wings (11-8) remain one game behind the Sparks (13-8) in the standings.

"We've played a lot of games," said Dallas coach Fred Williams in explaining why the Wings are playing better. "We are all starting to get to know each other a little more."

Williams, like almost every other WNBA coach, points to defense as the key to success.

"The only thing that we are expressing more is defense," he said. "How we play the ball off screens. Once that locks in, that makes you a better percentage on the win side."

The Wings have to only look across the floor at Thursday's opponents to see how good defense translates into wins. The Sparks rode their lock-down, tenacious defense to victory against the Storm as Seattle scored only six points in the fourth quarter.

"In years past, we've played great defense, but given up offensive boards," Candace Parker said after Tuesday's win. "We just try to make a concerted effort of giving them one shot and depend on our half-court defense."

For the season, Los Angeles is allowing a league-low 76.7 points per game and held Seattle to under 21 points its regulation average.

But the Wings did crack the century mark against the Sparks earlier in the season, so the Sparks know the key will be stopping the one-two punch of Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Cambage is averaging 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds. Diggins-Smith contributes 19.3 points and 6.2 assists per game.

In the Wings' win over the Sparks, Cambage scored 20 points. While Diggins-Smith was held to six points, Aerial Powers, Allisha Gray and Azura Stevens stepped up to fill the void and scored 16, 15 and 13 points, respectively.

To keep the win streak going, Dallas will have to make a similar effort -- on both sides of the ball.

"Just stay focused on what we're doing on defense," Stevens said. "We're staying disciplined on offense but I really think it's our defense that has helped us a lot. ... We know we are going to score so that's all we have to do."

Yep, all the Wings have to do is stop Parker to have a good shot at winning their fifth in a row.

Much easier said than done. In the Sparks' win against the Wings, Parker scored 29 points and Chelsea Gray added 27. Nneka Ogwumike missed that game but should be in the lineup Thursday.

Los Angeles forced 17 turnovers and held the Wings to under 40 percent from the field in the victory.

Head coach Brian Agler believes the Sparks' win over the Storm might be the springboard Los Angeles has needed to be more consistent this season.

"It could be," he said. "There are a lot of teams playing well right now. There are some teams that if you look at the standings and think they're not going to make the playoffs, but are playing pretty well. It's going to be interesting how it plays out."

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, JULY 12
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

DAL at LA 03:30 PM

DAL +6.5

O 163.0

[StarDust Bum]

Wings pull away for 5th straight win, 92-77 over Sparks
July 12, 2018

LOS ANGELES (AP) Skylar Diggins-Smith had 22 points and 11 assists, helping the Dallas Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 92-77 on Thursday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

Dallas (12-8) had its lead cut to 71-70 after the Sparks' Riquna Williams hit a 3-pointer with 7:52 to go. The Wings then went on a 21-2 run before the Sparks (13-9) scored the final five points of the game.

Azura Stevens had 16 points for Dallas, and Cayla George and Liz Cambage each scored 12.

Dallas took the season series with the win. The Wings won 101-72 in Dallas on June 22, and the Sparks won 87-83 in Los Angeles four days later.

Candace Parker had 21 points, Williams scored 16 and Nneka Ogwumike added 12 for the Sparks.

Los Angeles has lost six of its last eight.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JULY 13, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Chicago Sky Washington Mystics Capital One Arena
7:00 PM Indiana Fever Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
7:00 PM Phoenix Mercury Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:00 PM Las Vegas Aces Minnesota Lynx Target Center


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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

07/12/2018 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
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...........21-25.........45.62%.....-32.50


JULY'S BEST BETS:

07/12/2018.................1 - 0...............+5.00.......................1- 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
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.......................10 - 12..............-16.00....................12 - 12..............-6.00..............-22.00

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

— Seattle ace James Paxton (back) left Thursday’s game in the first inning.

— Boston 6, Toronto 4— Red Sox won their 10th game in a row.

— G Isaiah Thomas signed a veteran’s minimum deal with the Denver Nuggets.

— Wayne Ellington agreed to a one-year, $6.2M deal to return to the Miami Heat.

— Phil Hellmuth won a record 15th World Series of Poker gold bracelet, taking the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’ em event.

— There was an argument on Twitter today about whether coleslaw is tasty or not; it was more fun than people arguing about politics.


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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!!!

13) Oakland A’s are 19-5 in their last 24 games, going 5-2 on this Cleveland/Houston road trip that just ended- they’re a contender for the Wild Card right now. A’s next six games are a pair of three-game series with their cross-bay rivals, the Giants. Interesting times.

12) Former NBA star Charles Oakley was arrested Sunday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board Enforcement Agents at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

TMZ reported that he is suspected of pulling back a $100 chip after he realized he was going to lose his wager; that is a Class B felony. Not good.

11) Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar, Seattle’s Juan Segura won the Final Vote and will be in Washington for next week’s All-Star Game.

Milwaukee is the smallest market in the major leagues; good for their fans for voting one of their guys into the Mid-Summer Classic.

10) Will Yoenis Cespedes return to the Mets as a first baseman? There are reports on the Interweb that Cespedes has suggested the position change to Mets brass.

Cespedes hasn’t played since May 13, by the way. People have come back from broken legs faster than this guy, and I’m not a Met fan nor is he on my fantasy team.

9) Mets have had nine games this season that were 0-0 after five innings; five of the nine were Jacob deGrom starts.

8) There are rumors the Manny Machado trade may be delayed util after the All-Star Game because Orioles’ brass doesn’t want Machado playing in the All-Star Game in Washington next week wearing another team’s uniform, which would also leave the Orioles without an All-Star.

7) Baseball oddity: Babe Ruth started his career as a pitcher for the Red Sox; the night he got his first win as a pitcher, he was actually pinch-hit for in the 7th inning.

Wonder how many times he was pinch-hit for in his entire career?

6) Arizona OF Daniel Descalso pitched in the 4th inning Wednesday night in Denver, the earliest any position player has pitched in a game since the Brewers’ Sal Bando on August 29, 1979 (also the 4th inning).

Descalso allowed a HR to Rockies pitcher German Marquez. It’s just the 2nd time in the last 50 years that a pitcher homered off a position player.

The other: June 23, 1986 – Giants’ Mike LaCoss homered off San Diego’s Dane Iorg.

5) Alex Bregman is only American Leaguer in Home Run Derby Monday night; unusual. MLB cannot be very happy that Trout, Judge, Stanton, Goldschmidt are not participating.

4) There’s a sportsbook opening Saturday at Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, next to Giants Stadium. Maybe the jackass politicians in New York can figure out a way to have legalized wagering in our state- why was New Jersey so far ahead of them????

3) Baseball doings:
— Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers goes on DL with left shoulder inflammation.
— Angels’ P Garrett Richards (elbow) hopes to return in 2020.
— Twins put 1B Logan Morrison (hip) on the DL

2) FOX is apparently in negotiations with Jeff Fisher to hire the former Titans/Rams coach as an NFL commentator. You never know how good guys will be behind the mike, but I’ll be curious to hear what he has to say.

1) Even a former White House stenographer named Beck Dorey-Stein has written a book about her time working in the White House. The current political climate has been good for bookstores, if not for the rest of us.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, July 13


Indiana @ Atlanta

Game 603-604
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
103.793
Atlanta
109.198
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 5 1/2
152
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Atlanta
by 8 1/2
156 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+8 1/2); Under

Phoenix @ Connecticut

Game 605-606
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
109.073
Connecticut
107.207
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 2
164
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
N/A

Chicago @ Washington

Game 607-608
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
98.557
Washington
113.490
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 15
176
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 9
173
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-9); Over

Las Vegas @ Minnesota

Game 609-610
July 13, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
104.847
Minnesota
119.188
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 14
168
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 10
163
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-10); Over




WNBA

Friday, July 13

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Trend Report
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Indiana Fever
Indiana is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
Indiana is 2-23 SU in its last 25 games
Indiana is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Indiana is 1-15 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indiana's last 8 games on the road
Indiana is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Atlanta
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 8 games when playing Atlanta
Indiana is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
Atlanta is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games at home
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 9 games at home
Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Indiana
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 8 games when playing Indiana
Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Indiana
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana


Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games
Phoenix is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games
Phoenix is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Phoenix is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Connecticut
Phoenix is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Phoenix is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Phoenix is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games
Connecticut is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Connecticut's last 10 games at home
Connecticut is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Phoenix
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix


Chicago Sky
Chicago is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games
Chicago is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Chicago is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Chicago is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Chicago is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games when playing Washington
Chicago is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Washington
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games at home
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Chicago
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago


Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Las Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Las Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Las Vegas is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games on the road
Las Vegas is 7-14-1 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Minnesota
Las Vegas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Las Vegas's last 19 games when playing Minnesota
Las Vegas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Las Vegas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Las Vegas's last 9 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Minnesota is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games at home
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Minnesota's last 19 games when playing Las Vegas
Minnesota is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing at home against Las Vegas

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Friday, July 13

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INDIANA (2 - 18) at ATLANTA (10 - 9) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 14-26 ATS (-14.6 Units) after a division game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 6-3 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 5-4 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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PHOENIX (14 - 7) at CONNECTICUT (10 - 10) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 5-4 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 6-3 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CHICAGO (7 - 13) at WASHINGTON (12 - 8) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 12-22 ATS (-12.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 27-13 ATS (+12.7 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 322-380 ATS (-96.0 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 102-133 ATS (-44.3 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 184-235 ATS (-74.5 Units) after a division game since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 7-2 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 6-3 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LAS VEGAS (9 - 12) at MINNESOTA (12 - 8) - 7/13/2018, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LAS VEGAS is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LAS VEGAS is 82-55 ATS (+21.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 since 1997.
LAS VEGAS is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 4-3 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 7-0 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

Dream looking to build on record-setting game as it hosts Indiana

The Atlanta Dream is flying high and the Indiana Fever are not, butixthe two teams are a lot more alike than their records might indicate, making their showdown on Friday in Atlanta at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech University a battle of wills as much as talent and momentum.

There's no doubt that the Dream produced their best game of the year in their most recent contest as they swamped Washington 106-89 on the road. Atlanta set a WNBA record when four players notched 20-plus and recorded at least five assists in a win.

Angel McCoughtry paced the Dream with 24 points and six assists, while Jessica Breland hit for 23 points and dished out seven assists, and Tiffany Hayes and Renee Montgomery each had 21 points and five assists for Atlanta in the statement win by one of the league's best defensive teams.

The Dream (10-9) shot 60 percent from the field, including 61 percent from 3-point range.

Atlanta had averaged 76 points per game over its first 17 contests and have become a better team as it had moved away from its reliance on McCoughtry to carry the load.

McCoughtry, who holds WNBA records for the most single-game points in the Finals (38) and playoffs (42), is averaging 16.9 per game this season, the lowest total in her career since her rookie year in 2009.

"I'm not the top scorer this year, and it certainly was something I'd always been," McCoughtry told the Washington Post. "But when you have the heart and desire to be great, you can't that play away, no matter what the stat line says.

"I let my teammates do their thing, and it kind of takes attention off of me a little bit, and then that's when I can come down and get my spots. I like to sneak and get them, to get my sneaky points in there."

Indiana (2-18) is back on the road after losing 87-65 to defending league champion Minnesota on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

The Fever fell behind early and trailed by as many as 22 points.

"We wanted to make sure we established some presence early on the defensive end and we didn't," Fever coach Pokey Chatman said after the loss to Minnesota. "It's hard to play catch up in this league, let alone against a team that has experience and savvy."

Guard Erica Wheeler led the way for Indiana off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while Kelsey Mitchell scored 11 points and Natalie Achonwa added 10 for the Fever in the loss.

"I got most of my shots because of defense, either turnovers or a steal, just that momentum and being aggressive," Wheeler told wnba.com when asked about her performance against Minnesota. "So, me being aggressive on defense allows me to be an offensive scorer and attack."

Indiana battles the Dream for the fourth and final time in 2018, hoping to even the season series at 2-2. Atlanta has escaped with five- and six-point wins over Indiana this season, while the Fever captured a 32-point win in what was the first of only two Indiana victories all year.

Atlanta owns a 21-20 advantage in the all-time series against the Fever; the Dream leads 13-7 in games played in Atlanta.

[StarDust Bum]

Mercury's Taurasi returns to Connecticut to face Sun

Connecticut Sun fans often have former UConn players returning home and getting nice ovations from what used to be their home crowd.

They did it again Wednesday when Tina Charles and three other UConn alumni visited the Mohegan Sun Arena as members of the New York Liberty.

But Friday night is different. Friday night marks the (potential) latest return by Diana Taurasi.

The WNBA's all-time leading scorer, who also recently set the league mark for made field goals, and her Phoenix Mercury come to Uncasville.

The Mercury, who have already beaten the Sun twice this season, have lost the first two games of a four-game road trip, with illness forcing Taurasi out of Tuesday night's 101-72 loss at Dallas in the first quarter. That left her questionable for Friday.

Despite the two losses, Phoenix, led by the 1-2 punch of Taurasi and inside presence Brittney Griner, is 14-7 and in a battle for the top spot in the league.

Wednesday, the struggling Sun suffered a last-second loss to the Liberty -- falling to 10-10 with their ninth loss in their last 12 games.

Taurasi, averaging 19.6 points per game this season, has 44 points in two games against the Sun this season.

She is a three-time league champion, a four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner and six-time European champion. She was given the nickname "White Mamba," by Kobe Bryant, known as "Black Mamba."

Recently, Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, taken by the Phoenix Suns, was thrilled to meet Taurasi.

"I was freaking out," he said. "Because she just came over to me while I was working out, pumping some iron, you know? And she just like, was saying, 'Hello and great to have you.' I was like star-struck. I was speechless. She's the Michael Jordan of the WNBA."

The Sun -- who got Alyssa Thomas back after a 10-game absence (shoulder) and Courtney Williams back from a four-game absence (personal reasons) and also debuted the newly acquired Layshia Clarendon -- have had a heavy road schedule to deal with. They started a closing stretch of 11 of their final 15 games at home.

"What people fail to realize is we're excited that (the injured players are) back, but, at the same time, there's still an adjustment," Chiney Ogwumike said after Wednesday's loss. "This has been the year of adjustments.

"We started the year strong and then we lose AT and then we lose Courtney for a stretch. People have been dinged up here and there. So we're constantly making adjustments."

The Mercury have been dealing with the loss of Sancho Lyttle, who suffered a season-ending knee injury July 2.

[StarDust Bum]

Sky, Mystics look to shore up defense

WASHINGTON -- Teams needing to improve on the defensive end meet when the Washington Mystics host the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Washington (12-8) has lost two straight, allowing 203 points in the losses.

The latest came Wednesday at home when the Atlanta Dream beat the Mystics 106-89.

Atlanta shot 60.3 percent from the field and made 11 of 18 shots beyond the arc. Washington trailed by nine at halftime and pulled within seven early in the fourth quarter, but Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry scored six straight points to push the lead to double digits.

"Most nights when you score 89 points you should probably win," Mystics coach Mike Thibault told the Washington Post. "But when you play defense as badly as we did, you dont give yourself a chance to do that."

Natasha Cloud led the Mystics with 17 points and Elena Delle Donne added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Chicago (7-13) gave up just under 100 points Tuesday night in a 98-74 home loss to the Las Vegas Aces.

The Aces closed the third quarter with an 18-2 run to take a 76-50 lead. The Sky got no closer than within 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The Aces outscored the Sky 59-29 in the second and third quarters. Las Vegas made 47.9 percent of its shots from the field compared with 38.0 percent for the Sky.

Diamond DeShields had 15 points to lead Chicago.

Chicago is allowing the most points per game (88.2) in the WNBA and the Mystics the fifth most (82.7). Offensively, the Sky lead the league in 3-point shooting percentage (36.9) and the Mystics are third (35.8). Chicago is averaging 15.4 turnovers per game, the most in the league.

Washington won the first two meetings this season.

In the first game, the Mystics pulled away with a 17-2 run in the third quarter en route to an 88-60 victory June 19. Kristi Toliver led Washington with 19 points. Cheyenne Parker scored 18 for Chicago.

Their second meeting of the season three nights later featured Delle Donne's return to Chicago. She scored 22 of her 30 points in the first half in Washington's 93-77 victory, adding 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Allie Quigley scored 21 points for the Sky.

Despite Washington's recent losses, the Mystics are only 2 1/2 games out of first place overall.

"Every game is a dogfight, so you've got to be ready to fight it out like a playoff game," Delle Donne told the Post. "It's definitely wide open. I feel like the standings don't mean a thing right now."

[StarDust Bum]

Lynx seek consistency as Aces pay visit

While the Minnesota Lynx have righted the ship in 2018, they still haven't found the consistency that has marked the franchise over recent years.

The Lynx (12-8), who host the Las Vegas Aces on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, put their 3-6 start in the rearview mirror but have been up and down of late.

A dominating home win over their arch rival, the Los Angeles Sparks, was sandwiched between two inexplicable losses -- a 71-59 home defeat to an Indiana Fever team that was winning for only the second time all season and a loss to the struggling Chicago Sky.

"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, Minn.) 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."

Minnesota, which exacted revenge from the Fever with an 87-65 blowout victory Wednesday, has already exceeded its 2017 loss total (seven).

"It's a funky year," Reeve said. "How many losses do we have, and we still have a chance of achieving our goals. But it's not really about that right now. We're so locked in on wanting to play at a higher level, more consistently, so you guys don't call us names."

Las Vegas (9-12) also rebounded from a slow start this season reaching nine wins after its first three-game win streak of 2018. The franchise hadn't won more than eight games in any of the past three years.

The Aces are coming off a 98-74 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday. But their first matchup with the Lynx didn't go so well. Minnesota scored the game's first nine points and cruised to an 88-73 win in Las Vegas on June 24.

For Aces coach Bill Laimbeer it was an opportunity to make a comparison.

"I told our players that they have what we need to acquire, and that's mental toughness," Laimbeer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "(The Lynx) have been there, done that. They play well together. When things go wrong, they hunker down and make things happen. It's an acquired collective thing."

Las Vegas has won eight of its past 13 games to move within 1 1/2 games of Connecticut for eighth place and the final playoff spot.

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, JULY 13
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PHO at CONN 07:00 PM
PHO +4.5
U 167.0

CHI at WAS 07:00 PM
CHI +9.5
U 172.5

IND at ATL 07:00 PM
ATL -9.5
U 156.5

LV at MIN 08:00 PM
LV +9.5
O 163.5

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JULY 14, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
9:00 PM Dallas Wings Seattle Storm KeyArena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JULY 15, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Chicago Sky New York Liberty Westchester County Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
5:00 PM Phoenix Mercury Indiana Fever Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Event Center
7:00 PM Connecticut Sun Minnesota Lynx Target Center


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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
.
07/13/2018 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
07/12/2018 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
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...........25-29.........46.29%.....-34.50


JULY'S BEST BETS:

07/13/2018.................3 - 1...............+9.50.......................1 - 3................-11.50.............-2.00
07/12/2018.................1 - 0...............+5.00.......................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
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.....................13 - 13..............-6.50........................13 - 15..............-17.50..............-24.00

[StarDust Bum]

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

13) In 2012, Kansas City Chiefs went 2-12; they were -24 in turnovers, so they fired coach Romeo Crennel and hired Andy Reid.

In five years since, Chiefs have been +18/-3/+14/+16/+15 in turnovers, and are 53-27.

12) Alex Smith was KC’s QB in all five of those years, but now he is in Washington and the new QB is Patrick Mahomes, who started in Week 17 LY, throwing for 284 yards in a 27-24 win in Denver. It was his first NFL start.

My question in this; can the Chiefs maintain a positive turnover ratio in double digits despite playing a first-time starting QB? They almost have to turn the ball over more this season, given the normal learning curve for a young QB.

11) From 2000-16, 77 NFL teams were +10 or better in turnovers; of those 77 teams, 58 had worse records the following season, 8 had better records, 11 stayed the same, which suggests that a hugely positive turnover ratio gave the team some luck that is tough to sustain.

35 of the 58 teams whose record regressed won 3+ fewer games the following season.

10) Last year, six NFL teams had a turnover ratio of +10 or better: Ravens +17, Chiefs +15, Chargers +12, Eagles +11, Lions/Jaguars +10.

9) From 2000-16, 92 NFL teams were -10 or worse in turnovers; of those 92 teams, 61 had better records the next year, 21 had worse records, 10 stayed the same.

41 of the 61 teams whose records improved won 3+ more gams the following season.

8) Last year, five NFL teams had a turnover ratio of -10 or worse: Browns -28, Broncos -17, Dolphins/Raiders -14, Texans -12.

7) Going back to the Ravens’ +17 turnover ratio LY, it was the best turnover ratio in the NFL since the ’15 Panthers were +20, but Baltimore missed the playoffs!!!! How are you +17 in turnovers and not a playoff team? It may help explain why they drafted Lamar Jackson.

6) Sounds like kids will be able to go right from high school to the NBA starting in 2022, which means NBA teams should start scouting 9th graders this winter.

5) Jimmy Butler turned down the Timberwolves’ offer of a 4-year, $110M extension, which suggests “Why does Minnesota have a team if their best player won’t take $27.5M a year to play there?” How can the Wolves ever be any good?

4) Chase Utley announced that he’ll retire after this season; the entire Dodger team was at his announcement, a signal of how well-respected he is by teammates.

Utley has solid career numbers; is he a Hall of Famer? I think it is debatable- there were some former ballplayers on Twitter Friday saying he is a no-brainer yes. I’m not so sure— if Jeff Kent isn’t in, why should Utley be in?

3) Atlanta Hawks traded for G Jeremy Lin, who tore his patellar tendon on opening night last season, forcing him to miss the entire year. Lin averaged 14.5 ppg, 5.1 apg and 1.2 steals/game in 2016-17, his first year with Brooklyn.

Nets also acquired Kenneth Faried from Denver, who is owed $13.8M next season, Darrell Arthur, a top-12 protected 2019 first-round pick and a future 2nd-round pick in for Isaiah Whitehead.

The move saves Denver $21M and keeps them from paying the luxury tax. Whitehead will get waived by the Nuggets and become a free agent.

2) Phoenix Suns were 8-1 betting favorites to win the Las Vegas Summer League; they lost their first tournament game, 88-86 to the 76ers. So much for that.

I’m not uncertain that wagering on the summer league is a bad idea.

1) From hoopshype.com, an interesting story about and NBA player and agents:

“I have one really messed-up story involving my agent. When I was an unrestricted free agent, I was hoping to join this one team that really liked me and my agent seemed optimistic that we could figure out a deal. I really wanted to go there; it seemed great and it checked all the boxes that I wanted.

I wasn’t too involved in the talks, my agent just kept updating me every now and then on what was happening. Well, I ended up getting word from someone in the organization that my agent was trying use me to get more money for another one of his clients, who was already on that team. He was telling the team to re-sign his other client at a certain amount and saying they would also be able to sign me at a discount.

I was furious when I found out. I fired my agent and, for some time after that incident, I had a really hard time trusting agents who wanted to step in and represent me.”

Lot of agents are weasels.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, July 14

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DALLAS (12 - 8) at SEATTLE (15 - 6) - 7/14/2018, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SEATTLE is 123-86 ATS (+28.4 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1997.
DALLAS is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) in all games this season.
DALLAS is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) in May, June, or July games this season.
DALLAS is 19-9 ATS (+9.1 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.

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

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WNBA

Saturday, July 14

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Trend Report
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Dallas Wings
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Dallas's last 11 games
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Dallas is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Dallas is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle Storm
Seattle is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Seattle is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games at home
Seattle is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Seattle is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Seattle is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games when playing at home against Dallas
Seattle is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 7 games when playing at home against Dallas


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WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, July 14


Dallas @ Seattle

Game 611-612
July 14, 2018 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
118.405
Seattle
115.184
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 3
168
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 5 1/2
173 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+5 1/2); Under