Hello, hoopheads! I hope you didn’t overreact to the bizarre Saturday without a WNBA game quite as severely as I did (with nearly 3,000 words that you can check out here), but the hoops resume with four tilts this afternoon and evening. Unfortunately for those of us who want to consume as much WNBA action as possible, three of the games share a window, but you can’t do a whole lot better than the standalone opener. First up on this afternoon’s schedule is a matchup between the final remaining unbeaten team (granted in just two games) and the WNBA’s reigning dynasty as the Las Vegas Aces (3-1) visit my picks to win the title, the Atlanta Dream (2-0) (1:30 ET, NBC/Peacock).
I didn’t go as far as predicting the full order of the final standings, nor the opponent the Dream would take down to win the title, but if I had, this is most likely the Finals matchup I would’ve landed on. I believe these are two of the three teams that make up the top tier of the WNBA at the moment, alongside my beloved New York Liberty, and I settled on Atlanta to win the title because I decided that I think that the Dream would win a series against either the Aces or Liberty. All of that to say, I think we’re looking at two of the three best teams in the WNBA here. It’s also the first matchup this season between any of the top four contenders to win the title according to the oddsmakers, who have the Liberty first, the Aces second, and the Dream tied with the Indiana Fever for third. Those oddsmakers also have the spread for this matchup at just over a 3-pointer, so they seem to be expecting a banger just like I am.
On top of all that, every Aces-Dream meeting is imbued with an added layer of fun because it means a meeting between former national champion South Carolina teammates, off-court besties and on-court superstars Allisha Gray and A’ja Wilson. Gray and the Dream are playing their only game in a 10-day span, having last taken the court on Tuesday when the bespectacled bucket led Atlanta to a five-point win at Dallas with 26 points, 4 rebounds and a block without a turnover while going 9-for-20 (45%) from the field, 4-for-9 (44.4%) from deep and 4-for-4 at the line. She’s got 50 points on the nose through two games while the Dream have their sixth 2-0 start in franchise history and second one in which both games were on the road (also 2017). Wilson and the Aces are finishing up a stretch of five games in nine days to open the season, as well as a four-game road trip, and looking to return home with four straight wins since being thumped by the Phoenix Mercury in the opener. The GOAT is coming off of one of the most impressive games of her increasingly incredible career, a 45-point outing in Friday’s 101-94 win over the Connecticut Sun which saw her outscore her next three highest-scoring teammates combined (Chennedy Carter, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young put up 43). That gave Wilson a tie for the WNBA record for 40-point games (five), if you include playoffs, which you should, because they count more than regular-season games in every meaningful way except for record-keeping, and that is silly. The reigning champs will have a much deserved break after this, as they don’t play again until hosting the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday.
I could go on about the Aces and Dream all night (as I write this), but I am devoted to the mission of previewing every game this season. So, onward we go to the night session, and I’m going to start with what the oddsmakers and I believe is the best game, even though the only one on national(ish) television(ish) is the one the oddsmakers and I believe is the worst. I bet you’ll be able to figure out why that’s the one NBC(ish) wanted when we get there! But first, the Chicago Sky (2-1) look to avoid a second straight loss in a visit to the Minnesota Lynx (2-1) (7:00 ET, local affiliates/League Pass), who are eyeing a third straight win. Both teams will, unfortunately, be quite shorthanded. Minnesota remains without Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász and will also be going forward without 21-year old Czech rookie forward Emma Cechova, who suffered a torn ACL in Thursday’s win at Dallas. Chicago still won’t have DiJonai Carrington, Azurá Stevens or Courtney Vandersloot, none of whom has played yet this season, while Skylar Diggins is questionable with an eye injury suffered in Friday’s loss at Phoenix.
Two players who should be on the floor, however, are Lynx rookie Olivia Miles and the Sky’s Rickea Jackson, who have been two of the most productive offseason acquisitions in the early going. Miles, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is coming off of a 15-point, 6-assist showing in her first WNBA matchup with No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd. That made Miles the first player in WNBA history to have at least 13 points and 6 assists in the first three games of her career. Lowering the thresholds to 10 and 5 puts Miles in the company of only Sue Bird and Candace Parker, who each had four straight 10/5 games to start their careers. Jackson hasn’t been making history, but she has been making Sky fans have a slightly easier time getting over losing Angel Reese to Atlanta. I’m not actually sure if that’s true, because I’d be down bad if my team lost Reese, but it works as a narrative device to move me on to Jackson’s hot start. She’s coming off of a 29-point outing in the loss at Phoenix, one shy of tying her career-high, and has scored at least 18 points in all three games, matching the longest such streak of her career.
Tipping off simultaneously to the Sky and Lynx, the Toronto Tempo (1-2) and Los Angeles Sparks (1-2) (7:00 ET, local affiliates/League Pass) run back their Friday night thriller, which the Sparks took by a 99-95 margin for their first victory of the season. LA led that game by as many as 20 points in the third quarter before Toronto, which was playing its first road game in franchise history, came back to get within a Marina Mabrey look from deep for the tie in the final 30 seconds. That shot wouldn’t fall, however, as Canada’s new favorite Jersey girl finished with just 7 points after putting up 26 and 27 in the Tempo’s two home games. The Sparks had a much-needed offensive breakout after two uninspired performances to open the season, hitting 63.8% from the field including 75.7% inside the arc. Kelsey Plum scored 27 points and on 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the field and dished out 9 assists, Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points on 8-for-11 (72.7%), 5 rebounds and 3 assists and Dearica Hamby threw in 19 points on 8-for-10 (80%) to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Brittney Sykes led Toronto with 27 points, and it probably doesn’t say anything great about LA’s efforts to improve its defense that it won by five points and dodged a late look for the tie while playing the way it did on offense.
Finally, the Indiana Fever (1-2) host the Seattle Storm (1-2) (6:00 ET, Peacock/NBC Sports Network/local affiliates), and I bet you’ve already figured out why this is the one being carried beyond local affiliates and League Pass! Caitlin Clark is, of course, that reason, and she’s coming off of a masterpiece in defeat with 32 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers in Friday’s overtime loss to Washington. That effort included a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime (in part because Sonia Citron’s on-the-money halfcourt heave was just after the buzzer) and a 7-for-17 (41.2%) line from deep after she’d gone 3-for-16 (18.8%) over the first two games. Despite that signature game, Clark and the Fever are trying to get back to .500 and win their first home game of the season after an 0-2 start in front of the red-clad hordes. Seattle is coming off of a 13-point loss at Toronto on Wednesday and will be without second-year center Dominique Malonga, who’s out with a concussion. This feels like a “get right” game for Indiana.