WNBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Tuesday (6/3)
There are three WNBA games tonight, all of them rematches from games that have already taken place this season. Will we see a player who scored the first basket in one of those previous meetings score first tonight? Or is there value in taking other players to get on the board first? Here are our best WNBA first basket scorers picks and predictions for Tuesday, June 3rd.
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Tuesday’s Best WNBA First Basket Scorers Picks & Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever
When these two teams met last week, it took both units a while to get going offensively. There were only four made field goals in the first five minutes of the game, with no player making more than one during that span. That said, the first basket of the game came just five seconds into regulation, when Natasha Howard made a driving layup to put the Fever up two.
However, tonight, Howard isn't favored to score first. Instead, Aliyah Boston is favored with odds of +460, while Brittney Sykes has the best odds for the Mystics at +480. But I'm not going to back either of those players tonight. Instead, I'm going to back Kiki Iriafen, who scored 16 points in the first meeting between these two teams. She doesn't average as many shots as Sykes, but at +700 odds, there is more value in backing her than anyone else in this game.
Pick: Kiki Iriafen (+700)
Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx
Satou Sabally didn't make her first field goal until 6:08 remaining in the first quarter when these two teams met last week. Yet, she is still heavily favored to make the first basket for the Mercury, and it's hard to disagree with that assessment after she scored a game-high 26 in the last meeting.
Sabally is averaging 21.3 points per game, but more importantly, she's averaging 17 field-goal attempts per contest. She's not shy about shooting early, and after attempting 20 shots in her first game against the Lynx, I expect her to attempt around that number again tonight.
Napheesa Collier is favored to make the first basket, but there are so many options for the Lynx. Therefore, I'll take Sabally. If the Mercury score first, she's likely to be the person who gets the job done.
Pick: Satou Sabally (+350)
Dallas Wings vs. Seattle Storm
When these two teams met earlier this season, it was Nneka Ogwumike who made the first basket of the game. Because of that, it's not surprising to see her favored to make the first basket tonight. However, her price of +400 isn't as enticing as it should be, implying she has a 20% chance of making the first basket of the game.
Instead, I'm going to look further down the list of names available for this game and pick out a solid +1000 play. Arike Ogunbowale leads the Wings with 17.3 points per game. While she didn't make the first basket for the Wings the first time these two teams met, she did make the second. She only scored eight points on 2-of-14 shooting in that game. It was her worst performance from the field this season. Look for a much better performance from her tonight, and don't be surprised if her production starts early. For this price, there's no reason not to take a shot on her.
Pick: Arike Ogunbowale (+1000)
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.