Atlanta Dream vs. Dallas Wings Prediction, Preview and Odds - 9/2/21
It’s an interconference battle on the parquet floor as a pair of WNBA teams do battle in the Lone Star State. The Atlanta Dream are on the road as they travel to face the Dallas Wings Thursday night. Atlanta was knocked off 78-71 at home by Las Vegas in their most recent contest last Thursday. Dallas split a two-game road set with Washington as they were edged 76-75 in their latest game Saturday night. The teams have split the last 10 matchups with the Dream taking five of the last seven. That includes a 101-95 victory at home in the lone matchup between the teams this season back on May 27.
Atlanta Dream Continuing to Stumble
Atlanta let another second-half lead slip away as they dropped their 10th straight game and their 17th in the last 19 games against Las Vegas. The Dream dropped to 6-19 on the season and stand tied for last in the WNBA playoff picture with Indiana, 3.5 games behind the Liberty for the final playoff spot. Against Las Vegas, Atlanta led by two after the opening quarter, by eight at the half and by seven with 2:53 to play in the third quarter before things unraveled. The Dream held a one-point edge with 4:57 to play only to get outscored 10-2 the rest of the way to take the loss. Atlanta shot just 36.1% from the field, including seven of 23 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 43-34. Monique Billings led the Dream with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks in the loss.
The Dream is 7th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 80.6 points a game this season. Atlanta is 10th in the league in rebounding (33.7 boards a night) and stands 8th in assists with an average of 18 per game. The Dream are 12th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 86.7 points a contest this season. Tiffany Hayes is one of four players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 14.6 points a night. Chennedy Carter contributes 14.2 points plus 3.3 assists per contest. Odyssey Sims, Crystal Bradford, Tianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Williams, Monique Billings, Courtney Williams (15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists), Aari McDonald, Cheyenne Parker (10.2 points, 4.5 boards), Candice Dupree and Shekinna Strickland are other key rotation pieces for coach Darius Taylor. The Dream are 9th in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.5% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands 10th in threes per game (6.6) and 11th in three-point percentage as they hit 31.8% of their long-range attempts. The Dream is 12th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 71.6% from the stripe as a team this year. Carter is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team during the game against the Aces July 4. Parker is out for the year as she announced she was pregnant last month. Bradford (foot) was ruled out for the remainder of the season on August 31 while Dupree (back) is questionable for this contest.
Dallas Wings Trying to Improve Playoff Position
Dallas blew a halftime lead and ended up falling on the road in the second game of their two-game set with the Mystics. The Wings enter this game 11-15 on the year and hold the seventh seed in the WNBA playoff picture, one game ahead of ninth-place Washington to remain on the right side of the cut line. Against Washington, Dallas led by eight after the opening quarter, by as many as 18 in the first half and by 16 at halftime before things slipped away. The Wings saw their lead trimmed to five after three quarters. Dallas was up seven in the final seconds of the third quarter before giving up a 16-0 run that left them down 62-53 with 6:32 to play. The Wings never got back to even again as they dug too deep a hole. Dallas shot 53.2% from the field, including six of 14 from three-point range, but turned the ball over 23 times in the loss. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 25 points in the loss.
The Wings come into this one fourth in the league in scoring with 83.3 points per game this season. Dallas is fifth in rebounding (36.2 boards per contest) but rank 10th in the league in assists with 17.8 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 8th by allowing 82.6 points per contest. Arike Ogunbowale (19.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists) is one of five players scoring in double figures for the Wings this season. Allisha Gray (11.5 points), Marina Mabrey (13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists), Isabelle Harrison (10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally (12.4 points, 6.3 boards), Dana Evans and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Vickie Johnson. The Wings are seventh in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 43% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.2) and stand third in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 36.7% from long range. The Wings are third in free throw shooting as they convert 83.9% of their chances at the stripe. Sabally (Achilles) missed the last three games and is questionable for this contest. Gray (concussion) missed the last two games but has been upgraded to probable here.
Pick: Dallas Wings
Both teams struggled in their last game as both blew comfortable second-half leads en route to taking a loss. With that in mind, Atlanta has dropped 17 of their last 19 games and took another blow with the loss of Bradford for the rest of the season with a Jones fracture in her foot. The Dream is a fractured team with no real continuity or cohesion to rely on in crunch time of games. Gray is expected to return for the Wings and the potential for Sabally taking the floor again is on the table as well. Given how Atlanta has struggled to get things done after their decent start, you have to fade them here and back the Wings as they earn the victory.
Total: Under
We saw the teams combine for 196 points in the first meeting back in late May when the season was in its early stages. That marked the sixth time in the last 10 meetings that the teams had gone over the mark. Atlanta is the league’s worst team in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense (47.4%) and in three-point field goal percentage defense (40%) this season. That plays to Dallas’ strengths as the Wings are more than capable of putting up a hefty point total on any given night. With that said, the Dream have turned in four straight unders while Dallas has seen the under hit in four of their last five games. Look for this one to end up short of the mark as well.
