Connecticut Sun vs. Los Angeles Sparks Prediction and Odds - 9/9/21
It’s an interconference matchup on the WNBA hardwood between teams at opposite ends of the standings in the City of Angels. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they travel to face the Los Angeles Sparks Thursday night. Connecticut comes in off an 83-56 blowout victory on the road over Dallas Tuesday night in their most recent contest. Los Angeles was dropped 66-57 on the road by Minnesota in their most recent game last Wednesday. The Sun have won the last three meetings and seven of the last 10 between the teams. That includes a 76-72 win on August 26 and a 76-61 triumph on August 28 with both those contests coming at home.
Connecticut Sun Seeking 11th Straight Win
Connecticut ran their regular season win streak to 10 as they took care of business against Dallas in their last game Tuesday night. The Sun entered Wednesday holding the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games ahead of Las Vegas for the top overall seed. Against Dallas, Connecticut scored the game’s first five points and didn’t let the Wings closer than two the rest of the way. The Sun led by 17 after the opening quarter, by 23 at the half and by as many as 33 en route to the victory. Connecticut shot 48.5% from the field, including seven of 19 from three-point range, and stifled Dallas to a 26.6% shooting night. Brionna Jones led the Sun with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the win.
The Sun are 9th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 79.2 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is third in the league in rebounding (36.4 boards a night) while they stand 8th 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 70.7 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 19.9 points, 10.9 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman and Brionna Jones (14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fifth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.7% as a team. The Sun are tied for seventh in three-pointers per game (6.9) and fifth in three-point percentage (35.3%) on the year. Connecticut has been mediocre at the charity stripe as they convert on 80.3% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is still out as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Los Angeles Sparks Seeing Postseason Hopes Fade
Los Angeles dropped their fifth straight game as they were dropped by Minnesota in a defensive struggle their last time out. The Sparks have had a week off to prepare but they entered Wednesday 10th in the WNBA standings, half a game behind the Liberty for the final playoff spot with four games to go. Against Minnesota, Los Angeles led by two after the opening quarter and by six at the half. The Sparks led by as many as nine in the third quarter only to see their lead trimmed to two after three. In the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 56 with 6:40 to play only to put up one measly point the rest of the way. Los Angeles shot 31.1% from the field, including six of 19 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 43-29. Nneka Ogwumike (10 rebounds) and Erica Wheeler (seven assists) each had 16 points to lead the Sparks in the loss.
On the season, Los Angeles is 12th in the league in scoring offense as they average 72.6 points per game. The Sparks are last in rebounding (29.3 boards per game) and 12th in assists (15.5) this season. Los Angeles is 2nd in scoring defense as they give up an average of 78 points a night. Nneka Ogwumike leads the team with 14.2 points plus 5.9 rebounds a game this season. Chiney Ogwumike (7.8 points, 4.8 boards) and Kristi Tolliver (9.4 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Derek Fisher hopes to get more from role players like Brittney Sykes, Nia Coffey (8.3 points), Erica Wheeler (13.5 points, 4.8 assists), Te’a Cooper (8.2 points), Amanda Zahui B. (9.7 points, 5.3 boards) and Arella Guirantes. Los Angeles is 12th in field goal percentage on the season as they shoot 40.4% from the field as a team on the year. The Sparks are 9th in three-pointers per game (6.8) and 9th in three-point shooting as they convert 32.8% from beyond the arc this season. Los Angeles is 11th in success at the charity stripe as they cash in 76% of their attempts on the year. Jasmine Walker was lost for the season with a torn ACL that she suffered against Las Vegas May 21. Chiney Ogwumike is questionable again as she has missed the last three games with a knee injury after missing 19 games earlier this season. Toliver (hand) has been ruled out for this contest: she is expected to be out until late September
Pick: Connecticut Sun
Connecticut has won 10 straight regular season games as they have pushed to the top of the WNBA standings. While the Sun did lose the Commissioner’s Cup to Seattle coming out of the Olympic break, that didn’t affect the standings. The Sun leads the league in scoring defense and they face the league’s worst scoring offense here. Los Angeles is minus Toliver and potentially Chiney Ogwumike for this one, which is going to be an issue for them here. We saw the Sparks flatline down the stretch against Minnesota in their last game and that proves to be their undoing here. Look for Connecticut to come up with their 11th straight win by prevailing here.
Total: Under
Connecticut has seen the under hit in 18 of their 28 games on the year and they just throttled the Wings on the road in their last game. The Sun are the league’s stingiest team when it comes to scoring defense while they are first in field goal percentage defense (40.7%) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (32.1%) on the year. Los Angeles has seen the under hit in 19 of their 28 contests and they have stayed under the mark in eight of their last 11 contests, including their last three. Eight of the last nine matchups between the teams have fallen short of the total. With two good defensive teams and below average offensive units, this one ends up short of the mark.
