WNBA Sunday: No Liberty on Independence Day, but O'Sullivan picks Dream vs Aces, Storm vs Sparks
Look, I’ll take responsibility for the Connecticut Sun losing; that’s on me. I tried to “middle” it and that’s dumb, inexcusable. And the Phoenix Mercury were a disaster last night, which was almost a gift as I could try to go to sleep at 8 pm. Alas, all the illegal fireworks in the neighborhood kept me up. Have I mentioned that fireworks are stupid?
But - the Washington Mystics were up 18 at halftime. Eighteen. I’m sorry, if you’re up 18 at halftime, you should win the game. Period. Thomas Jefferson wanted that written in the Declaration of Independence but John Adams talked him out of it. Tina Charles missed two free throws with 52 seconds left that could’ve put the Mystics up. My Lord. American exceptionalism, huh?
Out of my 44 losses, roughly a zillion of them have been blown leads. Unreal.
Blown leads, missed free throws, and fireworks: all stupid. Yeah, Happy Birthday, America.
Seattle O’Sullivan so far: 53-44-1
The Picks:
ML Parlay Las Vegas (-1600)/Seattle (-900) - True Price: -556
Parlay Atlanta +15.5 (-110)/Los Angeles +12.5 (-110) - True Price: +264
Whatever. Do you know who loved parlays? Benjamin Franklin, that’s who.
Atlanta Dream at Las Vegas Aces, 6 pm EDT
The Pick: Atlanta +15.5 (-110)
Las Vegas is clearly in the top tier of the WNBA; Atlanta is clearly not. But they’ve split their last ten games against each other, 5-5, and the Dream has the edge against the spread, 6-4. Atlanta played Seattle close on Friday, so close they could’ve won, and certainly close enough to give them some confidence today. I really like how Dream guard Colleen Williams is playing right now: 17.1 ppg with a deadly mid-range jumper. Williams was just named to the All-Star team, which renewed my faith in humanity. I think she helps keep it close today.
Seattle Storm at Los Angeles Sparks, 9 pm EDT
The Pick: Los Angeles +12.5 (-110)
Another matchup between a top-tier WNBA team and one in the middle of the pack, yet where the last 10 games between the two have been split, 5-5. Seattle escaped on Friday with a tight victory over Atlanta, in a game where Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart shot a combined 7-23. That’s not gonna happen again. But the Storm also shot 14-22 from three-point land (63.6%); that’s not gonna happen again, either. I continue to respect Los Angeles’ defense, which gives up the fourth-fewest points per game in the WNBA and turns the opponent over the most, an impressive 19.3. It’s truly annoying sportsbooks won’t let me tease WNBA games, as today’s two games would be perfect for that. You’ll probably argue they’re saving me from myself. In lieu of that, I’ll take the home-dog Sparks and the points.