Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/27/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams take the floor in a WNBA tilt in the Nutmeg State. The Chicago Sky are on the road as they travel to face the Connecticut Sun Sunday afternoon. Chicago swept a two-game series from New York on the road, capped with a 91-68 romp in their most recent contest Thursday night. Connecticut got back in the win column as they dropped Dallas 80-70 at home Tuesday night in their most recent game. The Sky took the first two meetings this season, winning 81-75 on June 17 and 91-81 on June 19. Both those contests took place in the Windy City. Will Chicago continue their momentum and beat the Sun for the third straight time?
Chicago Sky Looking for Eighth Straight Win
Chicago ran their win streak to seven games as they emphatically dropped the hammer on New York on the road to sweep a two-game series. The Sky improved to 9-7 on the year and held the fourth seed in the WNBA playoff picture entering Saturday night. Against New York, Chicago broke an 8-8 tie with a 6-0 run and never let the Liberty even again. The Sky was up four after one quarter before burying the Liberty with a 37-13 edge in the second quarter to go up 28 at the half. Chicago didn’t let New York closer than 19 the rest of the way. The Sky shot 50% from the field, including nine of 19 from three-point range, and forced 21 Liberty turnovers. Diamond DeShields and Kahleah Copper (seven rebounds) each had 18 points in the win to lead the Sky.
The Sky is 7th in the league in scoring offense as they muster 82.4 points per contest this season. Chicago is third in rebounding (36.8 boards a night) and third in assists by dishing out 20.6 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are second in the league by allowing an average of 77.7 points a contest. Kahleah Copper is one of six players averaging in double figures for the team with 14.1 points plus five rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (13 points, 8.9 boards), Astou Ndour-Fall (10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (8.9 points, 6.2 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (12.9 points), Courtney Vandersloot (12 points, 8.6 assists), Allie Quigley (12.3 points), Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 7th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.3% as a team. The Sky are near the bottom of the pack in threes per game as they are 9th with 6.8 per contest: they are 8th in three-point shooting at 34.5%. Chicago comes in first at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 87.2% at the stripe. Ndour-Fall is out currently as she is playing for Spain in EuroBasket and likely won’t be back until late June.
Connecticut Sun Seeking Back-to-Back Wins
Connecticut snapped a three-game skid as they took down Dallas at home in their previous contest. The Sun entered Saturday third in the WNBA playoff picture, 2.5 games behind the Storm for the top spot though they do lead the Eastern Conference. Against Dallas, Connecticut led by seven early and by one after the opening quarter only to trail by eight at the half. The Sun trailed 14 with 6:55 to play in the third quarter before regrouping as they finished the quarter on a 26-7 run to take a five-point lead after three quarters. Connecticut never let Dallas closer than four the rest of the way and closed the game on an 8-2 run over the final 3:25 to earn the win. The Sun shot 43.7% from the field, including four of 20 from three-point range, and controlled the glass by a 37-27 margin. Brionna Jones led Connecticut with 26 points plus five rebounds in the win.
The Sun is eighth in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 79.7 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is fifth in the league in rebounding (36.4 boards a night) while they stand 9th by dishing out 18.1 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 75.4 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (8.5 points) and Brionna Jones (13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.7% as a team. The Sun are sixth in three-pointers per game (7.3) and fourth in three-point percentage (35.8%) on the year. Connecticut has sputtered at the charity stripe as they convert on 79.7% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles. Jones is out for most of June as she is representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in EuroBasket. Miller left the team June 15 to deal with a family medical emergency: Brandi Poole was named acting head coach in his absence.
Pick: Chicago Sky
It’s hard to argue with a team that has momentum like the Sky does right now. Chicago has won seven straight coming into this one and are a perfect 8-0 in games that Parker has played. During those contests, the Sky have posted a 109.9 offensive efficiency rating, by far the best in the league. We’ve seen Chicago beat Connecticut twice during this run as the Sun clearly misses Jones. She’ll be back next week but that doesn’t help the team now. The Sky are ridiculously deep and they have the weapons to break down even the best of teams. Give Chicago the upper hand on the road in this contest as they prevail to run their win streak to eight.
Total: Over
These teams have met twice already this season and both of those contests went over the number. Chicago has been clicking offensively during this win streak as the fewest points that they have put up is 81: they have cracked the 90-point plateau five times in that span. The Sky have seen the over post an 8-8 mark on the season coming into this one. Meanwhile, Connecticut has seen the under hit in nine of their 14 games but two of their overs came against their opposition here. These teams have seen the over hit in each of the last three meetings and seven of the previous eight entering this game. Look for that trend to continue here with another one over the mark.
