WNBA Playoffs Best Bets: Wings vs. Valkyries (Friday)
The final game of the WNBA's first round tips off at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The Valkyries and Wings split the first two contests in two high-scoring affairs. Friday's Game 3 looks no different in terms of delivering high-quality action. Let's take a deeper look at the matchup and go over the best WNBA picks.
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Friday’s Best WNBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Dallas Wings at Golden State Valkyries
On Wednesday, Dallas finally broke through and beat the Valkyries. Coming into the game, Golden State had won the three regular-season matchups and then dominated Game 1. In those four games, Golden State averaged a 15.3-point winning margin and covered the spread by an average of 10.6 points per game.
So what changed in Game 2? For starters, the Wings took 37 free throws and made a whopping 32. That is nearly twice as many free throw attempts as Golden State has allowed per game this season. On top of that, Dallas ranks in the bottom half of the league in free-throw rate. The 86.5% they shot from the line was nearly 10% higher than their 78.7% average.
We can expect to see the officials swallow their whistle a bit more in this pivotal Game 3. Those reduced free-throw attempts would be key to Golden State playing their style of game - a defensive-minded style where they boast the league's best defensive rating and the slowest pace of play in the WNBA. This is a big reason that the totals in this series have remained in the 150s despite back-to-back games going 30+ points over the total.
With one of the best home-court advantages in the league, the Valkyries should control this game. That means we can expect Golden State to clamp down defensively and execute their offense.
The total here is low compared to the results we've seen so far this series, but the under is still the play. Despite the wide spread, the Valkyries have had the upper hand in this series and will close it out on Friday night.
Picks: Under 157.5 Points (-105) & Valkyries -7.5 (-114)