There are four WNBA games tonight, and I'm offering a play for three of them. First, I explain why I love the Aces against a beat-up Tempo team. Then, I highlight why the Storm may be able to keep things close against the Lynx. Finally, I explain why even a low point total is too much for the Mystics and Valkyries to hit. Here are the best WNBA picks for Monday, July 20th.
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Monday's Best WNBA Picks & Bets
(Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook)
Las Vegas Aces at Toronto Tempo
July hasn't been a good month for the Tempo. They are just 1-5, with each of their losses coming by at least eight points. Their last three losses have all been by at least 13 points.
Injuries have been the main issue for the Tempo. Kiki Rice hasn't played since June 3rd. Brittney Sykes has been out since June 16th. Nyara Sabally isn't playing tonight. That leaves the Tempo without three of their five leading scorer for tonight's game against an Aces team that is 10 games over .500.
The Aces enter as the winners of five of their last seven games. While only two of those victories were by more than eight points, this is still the third-highest scoring team in the league. That, mixed with the fact that Toronto’s defense is allowing 92.3 points per contest, makes it hard for me to understand how a shorthanded Tempo offense is going to keep up.
Pick: Aces -11.5 (-108)
Minnesota Lynx at Seattle Storm
The Lynx beat the Storm by 20 points on June 6th. However, I'm not backing them as double-digit favorites against anyone, given how they've been playing lately. Yes, the Lynx have won five consecutive games. However, each of those victories has been by nine or fewer points. The Lynx haven't won a game by double figures since June 17th. That's a stretch of 11 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, the Storm are a disastrous 6-21. They've lost four consecutive games and six of their last seven overall. But they've also been competitive in recent contests. They have played five consecutive road games, posting a record of just 1-4 during that stretch. However, three of their four losses were by five or fewer points.
The key in this game will be the Storm's offense. The defense held the Lynx to fewer than 90 points in their first meeting, which was no easy task considering Minnesota is averaging 91.2 points per game. But the offense scored just 68 points in that contest.
However, thanks to recent performances, the Storm, who used to have the worst scoring offense in the league, now rank 13th. If they can get to 80, a number that Lynx opponents have reached in seven consecutive games, they'll cover this spread easily.
Pick: Storm +10.5 (-115)
Washington Mystics at Golden State Valkyries
The Mystics and Valkyries meet for the third time this season, and if this game is anything like the first two, points are going to be hard to come by. In the first meeting, the Valkyries defeated the Mystics 62-49. When the two teams met on Saturday, they each scored plenty more points, but the final score was still just 74-69.
The Mystics are the lowest-scoring team in the league, averaging just 79.6 points per contest. Meanwhile, the Valkyries aren't much better, averaging just 81.9 points.
Yet, for as bad as the offenses are, the defenses are among the best in the league. The Valkyries have the best scoring defense, allowing just 75.8 points per game. That's 6.5 fewer points per game than any other team. The Mystics have the third-best defense, allowing just 82.5 points per game.
Pick: Under 145.5 Points (-106)
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.