There are two massive Game 3s in the WNBA on Friday night. Both Atlanta and Golden State will look to close out their semifinal matchups and advance to the WNBA Finals. However, New York and Las Vegas have been here before and have the type of championship mettle to make things tight. Let's take a look at both matchups for our best WNBA picks for Friday, October 9th.
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Friday’s Best WNBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Atlanta Dream at New York Liberty
New York will try to stay alive as this series heads to the Big Apple. The Liberty have to be sick of seeing the Dream. This will be the fifth time these two teams have faced each other in the last month, including the postseason. In each of the previous four games, Atlanta not only won but covered. It wasn't until Wednesday's Game 2 that the Liberty looked like they may have found something.
The Liberty scorched the nets with a 54.7% field-goal rate, including shooting 48% from deep. Although they were one of the better shooting teams this season, these numbers were well outside of the ordinary. Despite being a home favorite on Friday night, we can expect a regression in shooting from the Liberty.
New York is an interesting matchup for the Dream. They're one of the few teams in the league that can negate their rebounding strength. That's been apparent in each of the recent matchups as the Liberty tied or won the battle of the boards despite losing.
Atlanta has won these matchups with devastating defense. They ranked second in the WNBA this season in defensive rating and held the Liberty to 10 points below their season average in regulation in their four matchups. They're going to find it very difficult to find the offense to overcome this suffocating crew.
Atlanta has been one of the best teams in the league all year. On Friday night, they have an opportunity to advance to their first WNBA Finals since 2013. Despite being the underdog, this is a great spot for their defense to rebound, shut down the Liberty, seal this series and celebrate a trip to the Finals.
Pick: Dream Moneyline (+126)
Golden State Valkyries at Las Vegas Aces
The Valkyries have cranked up the league's best defense on the Aces and now sit just one win away from a trip to the WNBA Finals in only their second season as a franchise. In the way is a championship-tested and reigning title-defending Las Vegas team. The Aces are coming off A'ja Wilson being named MVP for a third straight season and will be playing in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Aces have been money at home in the postseason. They played the Fever twice in the first round and dominated both instances with double-digit victories. If they want to recapture that luck in Game 3, they'll have to find the offense that helped them succeed against Golden State earlier in the season.
Las Vegas had three wins against the Valkyries during the regular season. In those games, they averaged 89 points per game - 14 points more than Golden State allowed. In a must-win game, the Aces will look to break through this vaunted Valkyries defense and put up a crooked offensive number, as they did during the regular season and in the previous series at home. They should bounce back big time and extend the series in a high-scoring affair.
Pick: Aces -3.5 (-118) & Over 156.6 Points (-112)
