Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream Preview, Prediction and Odds - 9/14/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams on the outside of the playoff picture in the WNBA take the floor down in Hotlanta. The Indiana Fever are on the road as they travel to face the Atlanta Dream Tuesday night. Indiana was beaten 90-80 on the road by Minnesota as they were swept in a two-game series by falling Sunday night. Atlanta was knocked off 82-74 on the road by Washington Friday night in their most recent contest. This season, the teams split two previous meetings with the Dream taking an 83-79 victory on the road on May 21 before the Fever answered with a 79-68 road victory on July 11 in the most recent meeting.
Indiana Fever Looking to Win Season Series
Indiana suffered their fourth straight loss and have dropped seven of their last nine games as they were upended in a two-game sweep by Minnesota Sunday. The Fever entered Monday 12th in the WNBA standings and are eliminated from playoff contention as they are 5.5 games behind the Mystics with three to play. Against Minnesota, Indiana trailed by 10 after the opening quarter, by as many as 16 in the first half and were down 10 at the half. The Fever outscored the Lynx 27-15 in the third quarter to take a 63-61 lead after three quarters before things came apart down the stretch. Indiana led 76-75 midway through the fourth quarter before getting outscored 15-4 the rest of the way to take the loss. The Fever shot 50% from the field, including eight of 17 from three-point range, and allowed Minnesota to shoot a blistering 56.1% from the floor in the game. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 25 points and six assists in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 11th in the league in scoring offense with 74.9 points per game. Indiana is eighth in the league in rebounding (34.4 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 16.4 dimes per game. The Fever are 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 84.5 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 17 points a night. Teaira McCowan (11.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.9 points, 3.7 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (12 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Marianne Stanley. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.6% as a team on the year. The Fever are tied for 11th in threes per game (4.8) while standing 12th by hitting 28.3% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 10th in free throw shooting as they sink 79.1% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar is out indefinitely with an ankle injury while Gondrezick is taking a personal leave and has no timetable for return. Perry (knee) also has been ruled out for the year. Robinson (ankle) is questionable here after missing the last five games. Breland (thumb) is also questionable here.
Atlanta Dream Trying to Earn Rare Victory
Atlanta dropped their second straight game as they were unable to keep up with Washington down the stretch on the road. The Dream fell to 7-22 on the season and are out of the playoff picture as they stand 11th in the standings, 4.5 games behind the Mystics with three to play. Against Washington, Atlanta led 10-4 four minutes into the game and held a one-point edge after the opening quarter. The Dream were outscored 24-17 in the second quarter to trail by six at the half and saw the deficit balloon to as many as 15 in the third quarter. Atlanta would get no closer than six in the second half as they took the loss. The Dream shot 41% from the field, including six of 22 from three-point range, and were beaten 46-41 on the boards in the contest. Courtney Williams led Atlanta with 23 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Dream is 8th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 79.3 points a game this season. Atlanta is 9th in the league in rebounding (34.2 boards a night) and stands 11th in assists with an average of 17.8 per game. The Dream are 11th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 84.9 points a contest this season. Tiffany Hayes is one of four players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 13.9 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 (16.7 points, 6.6 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 41.7% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands 10th in threes per game (6.3) and 11th in three-point percentage as they hit 31.5% of their long-range attempts. The Dream is 12th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 71.2% 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. Hawkins (foot) missed the last four games and is questionable here. Sims (personal) is questionable for this contest as well.
Pick: Indiana Fever
There isn’t a lot of things to be excited about for this contest on either side. Indiana has dropped four straight games coming into this contest while Atlanta has gone 3-20 since starting the season 4-2. Both teams are rather shorthanded and are missing key pieces in the mix. The road team has won both meetings between the teams this season and, while both teams are out of the playoff picture, a closer look at recent results points the needle solidly in one direction. As we said, Atlanta is 3-20 in their last 23 games while Indiana started the year 1-16 but have gone 5-6 in their last 11 games entering this one. The Fever have played tough against some good teams and that gives them the upper hand in this contest.
Total: Under
We know that both these teams are below average in most categories entering this contest. The Dream are second-last in the league in scoring defense while the Fever are second-worst when it comes to putting points on the board. It’s hard to see a ton of offensive production from either team considering that both teams are banged up and missing personnel. Both teams have seen the under hit in 16 of their 29 games on the year. In the two meetings this season, the teams combined for 162 and 147 points. Both those contests ended up falling under the total and that’s what you should expect here. This contest ends up falling short of the mark.
