Bet the WNBA Thursday: O'Sullivan picks Los Angeles Sparks at Washington Mystics

Well, the Chicago Sky allowed the Indiana Fever to cut a second-half 13-point lead to a mere four with 1:18 left to go in the third quarter, only to be able to give me an out-of-body experience, I imagine. But the Sky made their free throws late and salted the game away and with that, the money line parlay for which I got absolutely no value. But a win’s a win, you gotta walk before you can crawl, and out-of-body experiences are worth having if only to prove they’re underrated compared to winning cash betting on the WNBA.

It would’ve been nice if Atlanta could’ve managed shooting better than 11.5% from 3, though, or if they could score more than 10 points in the fourth quarter, to get my over 170.5 bet home, but hey. I’ll take 1-1 on the day if it means exorcising my horrific history with Chicago. Walk before you crawl, right?

Seattle O’Sullivan so far: 18-11

Los Angeles Sparks at Washington Mystics, 7 pm EDT

The Pick: Mystics ML (-260), Mystics -5.5 (-118)

Los Angeles has won four of their last five, while Washington’s only won two of theirs. But appearances can be deceiving! (Leo Tolstoy said that, I think.) Again, look at the competition. The Sparks have beat up on Indiana and Chicago. The Fever are the league’s doormat, and while I think the Sky are better than their record, they’re hardly great. The Sparks have played one team with a winning record. The Mystics, on the other hand, have beaten Minnesota and lost two close ones to Las Vegas and Connecticut. To me, that’s a win over a team Washington should beat, and two losses to two of the best three teams in the WNBA. Adjusted for 40 minutes, the teams are separated in pace by only .07, so let’s look at defensive and offensive ratings. The Sparks do guard much better based on their current defensive rating (1st at 93.1) but that’s not as impressive when you realize four of their games were against two teams who are a combined 4-17. Incidentally, Los Angeles’s offensive rating ranks dead last in the league. Once again, Tina Charles will be the best player on the floor. I’ll put a little more on the money line, and consider the Mystics covering to be gravy.