Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream Preview, Prediction and Odds - 7/11/21
It’s a clash between a pair of mediocre Eastern Conference teams on the hardwood in a WNBA tilt down in Hotlanta. The Indiana Fever are on the road trying to close the first half on a positive note as they travel to face the Atlanta Dream Sunday afternoon. Indiana comes in off an 82-69 home win over New York Friday night in their most recent contest. Atlanta was dumped 84-72 on the road by Connecticut Friday night in their latest action. In the first meeting this season, the Dream scratched out an 83-79 road victory on May 21. Atlanta enters this contest winners of six of the last 10 meetings.
Indiana Fever Seeking Third Straight Win Heading Into Break
Indiana ran their win streak to a season-best two games as they took down New York at home on Friday night. That improved the Fever’s record to 3-16 but they are still last in the WNBA standings, 5.5 games behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. On Friday night, Indiana trailed by as many as seven in the first quarter and by five after the opening quarter before regrouping. The Fever were up two with 1:03 to play in the first half before going on a 10-2 run over the next nearly six minutes. That gave Indiana a 52-42 edge with 5:07 to go in the third quarter and they didn’t let New York closer than six after that as they earned the victory. The Fever shot 46.5% from the field, including three of 13 from three-point range, and held New York to 39.4% shooting in the contest. Kelsey Mitchell led five players in double figures for the Fever with 20 points in the win.
The Fever comes into this game 11th in the league in scoring offense with 74.6 points per game. Indiana is ninth in the league in rebounding (34.1 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 16.7 dimes per game. The Fever are 11th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.8 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 16.4 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.8 points, 3.6 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (11.5 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.5% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (4.2) while standing 12th by hitting 26.2% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 9th in free throw shooting as they sink 79.6% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Atlanta Dream Fading as All-Star Break Looms
Atlanta dropped their third straight, sixth in the last seven games and their 10th in the last 12 as they were beaten on the road by Connecticut Friday night. The Dream fell to 6-12 on the season and entered Saturday 11th in the WNBA playoff picture, two games behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. On Friday night, Atlanta trailed by 10 in the first quarter only to rally back. The Dream climbed within five after the opening quarter and tied the game with 1:22 to play in the first half before things fell apart. Atlanta surrendered an 8-0 run to trail 47-39 with 8:25 to play in the third quarter and never got closer than three after that. The Dream shot 38.5% from the field, including eight of 25 from three-point range, and allowed the Sun to shoot 51.5% from the floor. Cheyenne Parker led Atlanta with 15 points plus six rebounds in the loss.
The Dream is 4th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 83.5 points a game this season. Atlanta is 11th in the league in rebounding (33.1 boards a night) and stands 8th in assists with an average of 18.4 per game. The Dream are 12th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 88.8 points a contest this season. Tiffany Hayes is one of four players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 17.6 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 (16.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, four assists), Aari McDonald, Cheyenne Parker (10.6 points, 4.5 boards) and Shekinna Strickland are other key rotation pieces for coach Mike Petersen. The Dream are 9th in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.5% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands tied for sixth in threes per game (7.1) and 6th in three-point percentage as they hit 34.2% of their long-range attempts. The Dream is 12th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 74% from the stripe as a team this year. Hayes is out four to six weeks with a Grade 2 tear in her MCL that she sustained June 17 against Washington. Carter is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team during the game against the Aces July 4.
Pick: Indiana Fever
This one is really a tough one to call as the Fever is the worst team in the WNBA though they do have back-to-back wins on the books coming into this contest. Meanwhile, Atlanta has dropped 10 of their last 12 and have two of their top three scorers out of the mix for this contest. The Dream is abysmal on the defensive end of the floor and we saw Indiana put up 82 points in their win over the Liberty, a similarly defensive deficient team. Indiana is 0-8 on the road and have been outscored by 19.3 points per game in those contests but you can’t have faith in Atlanta right now. Look for the Fever to spring the upset and prevail on the road here.
Total: Under
This is a matchup of the two worst teams when it comes to scoring defense this season. They also are the two worst teams when it comes to field goal percentage defense and two of the bottom three teams in three-point field goal percentage defense on the year. With that said, Indiana doesn’t score a ton of points, which is where they differ a bit from Atlanta. The Fever have seen the under hit in 11 of their 19 games on the season while Atlanta has seen the over hit in 11 of their 18 games. In the first meeting this season, the teams fell 1.5 points short of the total but the Dream had both Hayes and Carter in that contest. They combined for 37 of Atlanta’s 83 points. Without them, this one ends up short of the mark.
