Indiana Fever vs. Los Angeles Sparks Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/3/21
A pair of teams looking to get things going in a positive direction take the floor in WNBA action in the City of Angels. The Indiana Fever are on the road as they travel to face the Los Angeles Sparks Thursday night. Indiana was dumped 88-73 on the road by Seattle Tuesday night in their most recent contest. Los Angeles was dropped 79-69 on the road by Dallas Tuesday night in their most recent game. The Sparks have won the last five meetings and nine of the last 10 contests coming into this one. That includes a 90-76 victory as the “road” team in the bubble in the most recent matchup on August 15, 2020.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Stop Slide
Indiana suffered their fourth straight loss as they were dropped on the road by the defending champion Storm Tuesday night. The Fever are a dismal 1-8 on the season and are in the basement of the WNBA standings, 2.5 games behind the Mystics for the final playoff spot. Against Seattle, Indiana got off to a strong start, leading 5-0 early and 11-6 midway through the first quarter. The Fever were outscored 19-5 the rest of the quarter to trail by nine and never got closer than three after that. Indiana shot 39.2% from the field, including four of 17 from three-point range, and went 11 of 14 at the line to Seattle’s 21 of 24. Jessica Breland and Teaira McCowan led the Fever with 12 points each in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 10th in the league in scoring offense with 76 points per game. Indiana is sixth in the league in rebounding (35.7 boards per contest) and is tied for eighth in the league in assists with an average of 18.2 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 88.7 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of two players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 14 points a night. Teaira McCowan (11.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.3 points, 3.6 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (9.9 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 8th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 40.9% as a team on the year. The Fever are 11th in threes per game (4.6) while standing 12th by hitting 26.1% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is seventh in free throw shooting as they sink 80.4% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar missed the last six games with an ankle injury and is questionable here.
Los Angeles Sparks Try to Even Record
Los Angeles saw their two-game win streak snapped as they were knocked off on the road by the Wings Tuesday night. The Sparks enter this game 2-3 on the year and holding the seventh seed in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game ahead of ninth-place Dallas. Los Angeles got off to a hot start as they led 16-7 midway through the first quarter only to see their edge trimmed to five after one quarter. The Sparks sputtered in the second quarter, getting outscored 22-7 to trail by 10 at the half. Los Angeles was within one with 3:01 to play in the half before giving up a 19-4 run to trail 48-32 with 5:49 to play in the third quarter. The Sparks couldn’t get closer than six after that. Los Angeles shot 37.5% from the field, including 10 of 30 from three-point range, and was crushed 41-24 on the glass. Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 14 points in the loss.
On the season, Los Angeles is last in the league in scoring offense as they average 73.4 points per game. The Sparks are last in rebounding (28 boards per game) and 12th in assists (16.2) this season. Los Angeles is 7th in scoring defense as they give up an average of 82 points a night. Nneka Ogwumike leads the team with 16.4 points plus seven rebounds a game this season. Chiney Ogwumike (nine points, 5.7 boards) and Kristi Tolliver are solid secondary scoring options. Derek Fisher hopes to get more from role players like Brittney Sykes, Nia Coffey (10 points), Erica Wheeler (nine points, 3.2 assists), Te’a Cooper, Amanda Zahui B (11.7 points, 4.3 boards), Arella Guirantes and Bria Holmes. Los Angeles is last in field goal percentage on the season as they shoot 38% from the field as a team on the year. The Lakers are sixth in three-pointers per game (7.8) and 5th in three-point shooting as they convert 34.8% from beyond the arc this season. Los Angeles is 11th in success at the charity stripe as they cash in 75.3% 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 missed the last two games with a knee injury and is questionable here.
Pick: Los Angeles Sparks -6
Something has to give here as we have the league’s worst scoring offense against the league’s worst scoring defense. Indiana has lost four in a row and eight of their first nine games coming into this contest. The Fever simply have struggled to get anything going on the offensive end, which has merely compounded their struggles on the defensive end of the floor. The Sparks had won two straight before getting derailed by Dallas in their last game. With that said, the Sparks are at home here while Indiana is a dismal 0-5 on the road this season. While Los Angeles was pasted in their lone home game this season, facing a Fever team that has been awful works for them. Take the Sparks as they even their record on the season.
Total: Over 159
This one is a tough call with the Sparks ranking last in the league in scoring offense and field goal percentage on the year. The Fever isn’t a whole lot better as they are third-worst in scoring offense. Meanwhile, Indiana is last in scoring defense, last in field goal percentage defense (47.1%) and last in three-point field goal percentage defense (44.5%) this season. We saw the Sparks struggle against a weak defensive team in Dallas though that game was on the road. Los Angeles has seen the under hit in all five of their games this season. Indiana has seen the over hit in four of their nine contests coming into this one. We’ve seen the over hit five times in the last 10 matchups though the under came in both times last season. With that said, something has to give here and this seems a prime chance for the Sparks to break their offensive doldrums. Look for this to slightly edge over the mark.
