Minnesota Lynx vs. Connecticut Sun Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/30/21
It’s an interconference clash on the parquet floor in WNBA action in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they travel to face the Minnesota Lynx Sunday night. Connecticut knocked off Washington 86-81 at home Friday night in their most recent contest. Minnesota was knocked off 82-72 on the road by Seattle as they were swept in a home-and-home series that was spaced out a week. The Lynx swept both meetings in the bubble last season, including a 78-69 win as the “road” team on August 1, 2020 in the most recent meeting. That gave Minnesota four straight wins in the series though they have split the last 10 entering this one.
Connecticut Sun Looking to Stay Hot
Connecticut bounced back from their first loss of the season as they earned the home win over Washington in their last contest. The Sun entered Saturday holding the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture by half a game over Seattle. On Friday night, Connecticut trailed 8-0 out of the gate and by as many as 11 in the first quarter before making a charge. The Sun got within three after one quarter and remained down three at the half. Connecticut used an 18-4 run spanning the second and third quarters to take a 12-point lead only to give up a 13-0 run to end the stanza down one. The Sun started the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run and didn’t look back en route to the win. Connecticut shot 50% from the field, including 11 of 25 from three-point range, and held Washington to 39.4% shooting. Jonquel Jones led the Sun with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the win.
The Sun is sixth in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 83 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is second in the league in rebounding (39.3 boards a night) while they stand fifth by dishing out 19.1 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 73.6 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 18.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 20 points, 11.3 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists) and Brionna Jones (13 points, 5.4 rebounds) each average in double figures. Jasmine Thomas (11.6 points), 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 45% as a team. The Sun are fourth in three-pointers per game (9.1) and second in three-point percentage (40.8%) on the year. Connecticut has sputtered at the charity stripe as they convert on 73.1% of their attempts, which is 10th in the league. Alyssa Thomas remains out as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Minnesota Lynx Seeking First Win of Season
Minnesota played for the first time in a week as they traveled to face the defending champion Storm but ended up on the short end to remain winless on the season. The Lynx fell to 0-4 on the season and try again for their first victory of the season. Against Seattle Friday, Minnesota trailed 15-2 early before rallying to tie the game at 29 early in the second quarter. The Lynx gave up a 13-2 run to trail 42-31 with 5:26 to play in the first half and didn’t get closer than 10 the rest of the way. Minnesota trailed by 30 with 9:22 to play and only made the score respectable in garbage time. The Lynx shot 37.3% from the field, including six of 25 from three-point range, while allowing the Storm to shoot 48.6% from the floor. Sylvia Fowles led Minnesota with 15 points and six rebounds in the loss.
On the season, the Lynx are 11th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 75 points per game. Minnesota is 11th in rebounding as they collect 33.8 boards a night while the team is tied for sixth in assists by dishing 19 dimes a night. The Lynx are seventh in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 83.8 points per contest this season. Sylvia Fowles leads the team with 18 points plus 9.3 rebounds per contest. Kayla McBride (12.8 points), Crystal Dangerfield (11.5 points, 4.8 assists) and Aerial Powers (11 points, five rebounds, 4.3 assists) are solid secondary scoring options. Damiris Dantas, Napheesa Collier, Jessica Shepard, Bridget Carleton, Rachael Banham, Natalie Achonwa and Linnae Harper are looked at to be contributors for coach Cheryl Reeve. Minnesota stands ninth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 39.9% from the field as a team this year. The Lynx are tied for 10th in the league in three-pointers per game (4.8) and last in three-point shooting as they hit only 23.5% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Minnesota is 8th in the league in free throw shooting as they hit 78.1% of their attempts at the charity stripe. Powers (hamstring) and Rennia Davis (foot) are out while Layshia Clarendon, who was recently signed after being waived by New York, is questionable here.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
While the Lynx did get Collier back in Friday’s contest, the fact remained that they were blown out in the first three quarters before making the score respectable in garbage time. Minnesota will improve as Collier gets back up to full speed, though she scored 14 points and dished out six assists Friday night. The problem for the Lynx is that they are facing a Connecticut team that is rolling right now with six wins in their first seven games. Jones and Bonner is a dangerous 1-2 punch for any opposing team to deal with and that’s a major task for the Lynx to contend with here. Give the advantage to the Sun here.
Total: Under
Minnesota has had their problems shooting the ball in the early going this season and that could pose a problem here. The Lynx have seen the total go over twice and stay under the mark twice in their first four games of the season. Minnesota has to contend with a tough defensive team as the Sun are second in field goal percentage defense (39.2%) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.9%) on the year. Connecticut has seen the under hit in four of their seven contests on the year. This one ends up falling short of the total as the Lynx have their issues putting the ball in the hoop.
