The Minnesota Lynx (12-2) and Atlanta Dream (10-5) meet in the WNBA tonight. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga. The game will be broadcast live on ION.
The Dream are favored by -1.5 on the spread, with the over/under set at 156.5 (-110o / -110u). The Dream are a -125 favorite to win outright, while the Lynx are +105 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Lynx vs. Dream prediction and WNBA picks.
Lynx vs. Dream Odds, Pick
| Lynx Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -110 | 156.5 -110o / -110u | +105 |
| Dream Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -110 | 156.5 -110o / -110u | -125 |
- Lynx vs. Dream Spread: Dream -1.5 (-110 ), Lynx +1.5 (-110)
- Lynx vs. Dream Over/Under: 156.5 (-110o / -110u)
- Lynx vs. Dream Moneyline: Lynx +105, Dream -125
- Lynx vs. Dream Best Bet: Brittney Griner Under 9.5 Points
Lynx vs. Dream Preview
The Atlanta Dream, coming off a disappointing loss against the Wings, host the Lynx in a marquee contest on Friday night. Atlanta has won two of its past three overall and six straight at home.
The Lynx are also coming off a loss, but have won three of four. However, they may be without MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who is listed as day-to-day with a back injury.
Jim Turvey's Lynx vs. Dream Prediction
This is a this is kind of a recency thing and you know recency can be tricky. You want to really make sure you're not just getting distorted numbers here with foul trouble or players being in that were out. However, I think there is something to this.
Griner's only averaging six points per game over the past seven games and is only averaging 20.9 minutes in general. Her minutes have been cut down and her usage has been cut way down.
This is an arbitrary end point, but eight games ago is when Jordin Canada returned and the Atlanta bench is playing really well, which has kind of flattened Griner's minutes. She's been the odd one out of the starting lineup and we've seen her minutes and usage get cut.
She's taking fewer than five field goal attempts per game during this stretch and it's not just that she's just had a bad shooting stretch. She really is being de-emphasized in the offense. Again, that correlates with when Canada came back.
Now it's a tough matchup against Minnesota and last season, in three games against the Lynx, Griner shot 10-for-33 from the field. So, even if she gets up to eight or nine field-goal attempts, I think there's still a pretty decent chance to go under 9.5. The books have accounted for some of the recent slip in usage, but I don't think they've adjusted quite enough, especially against a really good defense.
Best Bet: Brittney Griner Under 9.5 Points
