The Fever are headed straight from Seattle down to LA for back-to-back games. With the Sparks waiting for them, we’ll see if the Fever can rally on day two and keep their winning streak alive. Or if we’ll see the Sparks really come to topple the raging Fever.
Caitlin Clark Questionable
None
This might be the most important game happening today. With both teams surging recently, it’s going to be very close. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’ll see Clark return, but the Sparks do have Brink back. Even with a minutes restriction, she’s given the team an extra boost. However, even with her return, these Sparks starters have been handling heavy workloads. Especially in their last game against Seattle that went to double overtime on Friday. The Sparks barely escaped with the win, but we’ll see how LA’s recovery went in the meantime. Either way, it’s better than what the Fever are facing today. They just played Seattle last night and also won their game. With rest and fatigue being a real concern on both sides, it should keep things interesting.
For the Fever, at least, Boston will be key tonight. The Storm were able to attack the LA interior very effectively on Friday. Ogwumike managed to score 37 points on them, which Boston is fully capable of doing as well. Especially with no Clark, Mitchell and Howard are going to get run off the line like they were in Seattle on Friday.
Overall, this game will come down to the Sparks’ free throw attempts. If the Fever give Plum and the rest of the team free trips to the line, LA will keep pace. If Indy can keep that number down and force the Sparks to shoot from the perimeter, they’ll be in good shape. I don’t think the Fever will have a huge problem handling the Sparks tonight. They’ve been clicking really well, and with their size, they should be able to overwhelm the Sparks. That’s why I’m taking the Indiana moneyline, the under on 176.5 points total, and the Indy spread at -1.5.
Money line: IND (-122) / LAS (+102)
Total Points: 176.5
Spread: -1.5 IND (-110) / +1.5 LAS (-110)
Howard had an outstanding night on Sunday in Seattle, scoring 21 points with an 83% shooting percentage. However, I think that’s a bit of an outlier. With her averaging only 11.6 points per game, she has been fairly consistently hitting the under lately. Especially on the second game of a back-to-back road trip, I don’t expect to see the same level of scoring efficiency.
Plum continues to be consistently strong at scoring. She’s been over 20 points in the last four games, despite some mediocre shooting percentages. The free throw line remains her best asset, with an average of over 6 attempts per game. I believe that with the Fever on the road without Clark, Plum should have enough space to attack the interior and score again tonight.
Boston has significantly improved her rebounding recently. She’s been averaging double digits in her last six games. I believe a major reason for the rise in her stats is Clark’s absence. There are just a few more boards available each game now, and she’s making the most of it. Even at this level, I think Boston will easily go over again tonight.