WNBA Picks & Predictions: Friday (9/18)
The WNBA is back with a thrilling finish to the regular season. Friday has three games on the slate and they certainly provide some intrigue. Let's take a deeper look with our best WNBA picks.
Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>
Friday’s Best WNBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
New York Liberty at Minnesota Lynx
One of the most exciting matchups of the season has the Liberty traveling to Minnesota to play the Lynx. With just four games left in the regular season, both teams are slated to make the postseason, but jockeying for seeding makes this game even more intriguing.
Minnesota has a two-game lead for the top seed and holds a tiebreaker over the Valkyries, who trail just behind. Ideally, the Lynx would like to wrap this up before ending the season with two games against the Fever next week.
These two split the season series in two very high-scoring games. The Liberty needed a massive shooting performance in the first matchup. They shot 58% from the field and made 40% of their three-point attempts. They also dominated in the paint with 52 points.
However, that isn't the Liberty's typical game. Only two teams attempt a lower percentage of their shots from within the arc. In the second game, Minnesota cut New York’s points in the paint to 32 and pulled off a five-point victory.
These are two of the best offenses in the league as both rank in the top four in offensive rating. Much like the last few matchups, we can expect a high-scoring affair. The Lynx likely won’t want to push the top seed into the final week of the season, when they play the red-hot Fever. I'll be taking the over and the Lynx to cover.
Picks: Lynx -7.5 (-104) & Over 176.5 Points (-114)
Indiana Fever at Toronto Tempo
It has definitely been a season to forget for the Tempo in their inaugural campaign. They're nearing a bottom-three record, largely because they've had the worst defense in the league, per defensive rating. They've been bad in nearly every factor of defense.
Toronto has given up one of the highest field-goal rates, forces one of the lowest turnover rates and has one of the lowest defensive rebounding rates. This Fever offense should devour them.
No team in the league shoots the ball better than the Fever. Their three-point rate is nearly 40% as a team, and Toronto is in the top half of the league in three-point attempts/field-goal attempts allowed. The Fever should unleash a barrage of deep shots to put them ahead and coast to a big victory.
The Fever have a big reason to want to win this game, too. They're fighting for a top-four seed. This would allow the Fever to host a first-round series and prevent Atlanta or Las Vegas from gaining home-court advantage. These teams are logjammed in the three-four-five spots in the standings. Indiana isn't a team that is going to look to play with their food and should cover despite this very large spread.
Pick: Fever -12.5 (-114)