Atlanta Dream vs. Chicago Sky Preview, Prediction and Odds - 5/25/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams take the floor looking to pick up a victory in the Windy City. The Atlanta Dream are on the road as they travel to face the Chicago Sky Tuesday night. Atlanta earned an 83-79 road victory over Indiana Friday night in their most recent contest. Chicago was knocked off 93-85 at home by New York in their most recent action on Sunday afternoon. In the first meeting between the teams this season, it was the Sky earning an 85-77 road victory back on May 19. That marked the fifth victory in the last six meetings between the teams for the Sky heading into this contest.
Atlanta Dream Seeking to Even Record
Atlanta dropped their first two games of the year but bounced back by edging Indiana on the road in a battle of teams that were winless entering Friday’s contest. The Dream now try to make it two straight wins to get back to the .500 mark on the year. In Friday’s game, Atlanta jumped to a 7-0 lead only to see their advantage trimmed to a single point after the opening quarter. The Dream led by seven at the half but gave up a 15-4 run to trail by five midway through the third quarter before regrouping. Atlanta tied the game at 68 with 4:18 to play and then reeled off an 8-0 run to take a 76-68 advantage with 3:01 remaining. The Dream didn’t let the Fever closer than three after that to hold on for the win. Atlanta shot 40% from the field, including 11 of 22 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 34-27 yet prevailed. Chennedy Carter led the Dream with 23 points and four assists in the win.
The Dream is 11th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 75.7 points a game this season. Atlanta is 11th in the league in rebounding (29.3 boards a night) and stands 10th in assists with an average of 16.7 per game. The Dream are sixth in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 80.7 points a contest this season. Courtney Williams leads the team and is one of the two players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 18 points plus 5.7 boards a night. Chennedy Carter contributes 18 points plus four assists per contest. Odyssey Sims, Crystal Bradford, Tianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Williams, Monique Billings, Tiffany Hayes, Aari McDonald and Shekinna Strickland are other key rotation pieces for coach Nicki Collen. The Dream are 10th in field goal percentage as they shoot only 38.4% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands seventh in threes per game (6.3) and 6th in three-point percentage as they hit 34.5% of their long range attempts. The Dream is 11th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 68.9% from the stripe as a team this year.
Chicago Sky Trying to Rebound at Home
Chicago started the season with two straight wins but they were unable to keep up with the Liberty at home Sunday to suffer their first loss of the year. The Sky now tries to bounce back at home to keep pace in the Eastern Conference race for the top spot. Against New York, Chicago led by three after the opening quarter, was even at the half and led by four with 2:31 to play in the third quarter before giving up a 10-2 run to end the stanza to trail by four. In the final quarter, the Sky climbed within two but got no closer as they went down in defeat. Chicago shot 40.7% from the floor, including six of 12 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 40-35. The Sky saw their point total by quarter drop through the game from 31 in the first quarter to 21 in the second, 20 in the third and 13 in the fourth. Diamond DeShields paced the Sky with 22 points in the loss.
The Sky is sixth in the league in scoring offense as they muster 80 points per contest this season. Chicago is third in rebounding (39.3 boards a night) and third in assists by dishing out 20.3 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are second in the league by allowing an average of 73.5 points a contest. Kahleah Copper leads the team with 17 points plus 4.3 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (16 points, eight boards), Astou Ndour (13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (12 points, 7.7 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (13.3 points), Courtney Vandersloot (9.7 points, 9.3 assists), Allie Quigley, Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is ninth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 39.3% as a team. The Sky is in the middle of the pack in threes per game as they are ninth with five per contest: they are fifth in three-point shooting at 35.7%. Chicago comes in third at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 81.9% at the stripe. Parker (ankle) and Quigley (hamstring), who have both missed the last two games, are questionable here. Dolson is out for the time being as she is part of Team USA’s three-on-three team, which is in qualifying for the Summer Olympics. She’ll be back in early June.
Pick: Chicago Sky -6.5
While Atlanta is coming off their first win of the season and have had three days of rest between games, the fact remains that they are struggling when it comes to shooting the ball with any consistency. Even with Chicago’s struggles against the Liberty, you can’t expect the Dream to hit 14 of 28 from beyond the arc like New York did. The Sky hopes to have Parker and/or Quigley back after missing the last two games, which would only help to take pressure off Copper, DeShields and Vandersloot. Chicago is leading the league in field goal percentage defense (37.8%) this season while Atlanta is 10th in field goal percentage. That’s enough to tilt the scales in favor of the Sky, especially at home.
Total: Under 168.5
Yes, I said that the total for the game between the Liberty and Sky would fall short of the mark and came up on the wrong side there. With that said, no one expected New York to drill 14 of 28 three-pointers in the contest, not to mention cranking up the pace for a track meet. Atlanta has stayed under the total in all three of their games this season and the under has hit in seven of their last eight games dating back to last season. Chicago stayed under the mark in their first two games this season before seeing Sunday’s game wind up over the mark. With the Sky playing solid defense this season and the Dream struggling to knock down shots with consistency, look for this one to wind up short of the total.
