The Aces and the Valkyrie are back at it today after their last battle on Sunday. The Aces took that game easily, turning it into a blowout. However, now that the Valkyrie have home court, can they flip the switch on the Aces? We’ll see.
Tiffany Hayes Questionable
Cecilia Zandalasini Questionable
Kayla Thornton Out
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus Out
The last game between these teams was anything but competitive. The game ended 101-77, with the Valkyries struggling to find any rhythm. However, this isn’t too surprising given where the team currently stands. They’ve clearly shifted into a different gear over the past few games. With Kayla Thornton out, they’ve moved toward a youth movement to give some of these players real playing time. Carla Leite, Janelle Salaun, Iliana Rupert, and Kate Martin are just a few of the players under 26 getting substantial minutes. They only had one player over 30 in their last game. This truly seems like a focus on the future at the expense of success this season. That makes sense too. Thornton was leading the team in nearly all counting stats, and with her sidelined for the rest of the season, the team simply lacks the experience to compete. That said, this may not turn out to be a bad game, though. Youth teams like this are unpredictable; some days it’s chaos on the court with nothing working, while other days, everything they touch turns to gold. However, tonight looks tough, especially after watching this group get crushed.
The biggest problem for the Valkyries in this matchup is the veteran stars on the Aces. It’s not like Vegas has been crushing teams left and right, but they’re a talented team at the top end. Behind reigning MVP Wilson, along with Young and Gray, I don’t see them falling into any traps tonight. Sometimes we see more veteran teams try to run with the youth instead of slowing down the game and dominating in the half court, but there are few better at that than Wilson. I think she’s going to dominate early, build a big lead, and then let the rest of the team close it out. That’s basically what happened in the last matchup. Wilson scored her 14 points, played under 30 minutes, and then let the bench finish it. I don’t see anything changing in the two days since they played.
This one is a pretty straightforward pick today. The Aces are clearly the better team and should win this game. That’s why I’m backing the Las Vegas moneyline, the over on the 158.5 points total, and the -5.5 Aces spread.
Money line: LVA (-238) / GSV (+195)
Total Points: 158.5
Spread: -5.5 LVA (-112) / +5.5 GSV (-108)
Even though Wilson has continued to dominate this season, I don’t see this game being very competitive. They just played each other recently, and it was a huge blowout. I doubt we see Wilson on the court long enough tonight to reach the 22-point mark.
Young has been one of the best ballhandlers on this team, and against the Valkyrie, she should be able to break them down again. In their last game on Sunday, she scored 8 points. Since not much is expected to change between these two teams besides the location, I believe she can do it again.
Hayes has been in and out of the lineup this year. She’s an effective scorer, but dealing with a foot injury tonight will probably limit her or hold her out entirely. Regardless, if she does touch the court tonight, I don’t expect to see her lighting up the box score. If the three ball is going in, she may get close, but with how streaky that’s been, the under is looking much safer tonight.