After a tough loss in their season opener, the Storm headed straight from Phoenix to Dallas to challenge the Wings. Both teams are seeking their first win of the year after the Wings lost their home opener to the Lynx. With the number one and number two picks of the WNBA draft facing off for the first time, this game will be a top watch.
Katie Lou Samuelson Out
Luisa Geiselsoder Porbable
We saw both of these teams come out flat in game one of the season. The Wings were particularly poor in the second half. This team is still in the process of rebuilding, but we see some flashes as they kept neck and neck with the Lynx in the first half. However, Paige Bueckers' first W minutes weren’t what most people expected; she shot a poor 3-10 in her first outing, which didn’t help. Overall, we saw some promise from the Wings' bench as they handily outscored the Lynx behind Maddy Seigrist. We’ll need to see a lot more out of this team, but Seattle will be an excellent test at home.
Despite making the WNBA playoffs last year, the Storm still managed to snag the second pick in the draft this year, earning them Dominique Malonga. We didn’t get to see too much from Dominique in the season opener; she only had 10 minutes off the bench, but she still managed to get her first WNBA bucket, going 1-2 from the field. It’s a little surprising she didn’t get more time on the court considering the blowout loss the Mercury handed the Storm in game one. It wasn’t even close, as the Storm lost every single quarter. However, that sets both of these teams up well tonight in Dallas.
Frankly, we’re going to need to see Seattle shooting better tonight. They shot an embarrassing 33% in their first game. That’s not going to get them anywhere this year, especially not back to the playoffs. They need to work the ball down low, attack the rim, and get to the line. Their free throw shooting was about their only saving grace in this first game. If the shots aren’t falling, especially the threes, they need to change the tempo and slow the pace down. This Dallas team can get out and run when they have to.
For Dallas, I’m a little less worried; they’re playing on home court and just faced off against the runner-up in the finals last year. The Lynx are still a dangerous team, and the fact that they held their own against them was impressive. The shooting is going to be the key difference tonight, though. They managed a solid 45% from the field and 35% from three in game one. If they can keep that up, they’ll easily be able to outpace Seattle. All they need to do is keep the ball moving and run up the score. I doubt we’ll see the scoring talent on Seattle keep up if the Wings can crank up the pace and find their open shooters.
Overall, this looks like a game that Dallas can win. Even though they are the underdogs, if they can keep Seattle spread and maintain high scoring pressure, it should be doable.
Money line: SEA (-155) / DAL (+130)
Total Points: 166
Spread: -3 SEA (-112) / +3 DAL (-108)
It can take a little while for rookies to really come up to speed in this league. Considering she did okay with 10 points in her debut while playing 30 minutes, this line still seems a bit high. If she improves her shooting, she might be able to threaten the over, but the safest bet is typically to go against the rookie.
Considering Ogwumike might have a nice size advantage down low, 9 rebounds aren’t out of the question. She had 7 in the season opener against a tough Lynx squad. With her taking on Hines-Allen and Siegrist tonight, she should be able to at least secure some boards.
Bueckers didn’t come out moving the ball quite as well as she should have, and I don’t think that changes tonight either. The Wings didn’t move the ball well around much at all either, only ending with 15 assists for the team, despite shooting well from the field. This feels like a solid bet.