A pair of games in the WNBA tonight and we’ll take a look at the matchup between the Connecticut Sun (10-5) and the Washington Mystics (7-8).
Connecticut at Washington Betting Odds
The Sun are favored by 4.5 points and the total here is 159. Connecticut is -200 on the moneyline and the first-half total sees the Sun -2.5 with a total of 79.5.
Connecticut Sun
The Sun are expected to have Jonquel Jones back for this one, as the team’s leading scorer missed the past five games at the FIBA European Championship. Jones is averaging 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Sun, who were 2-3 in the five games she missed. DeWanna Bonner is scoring 17 points a game and pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game, while the Sun get solid play from Brionna Jones and Jasmine Thomas, who are both averaging double-digits in scoring.
The story for the Sun, however, is defense. Connecticut leads the league in points allowed and is third in field goal percentage. Connecticut plays at a slow pace and tries to get the ball to the ‘Big 2’ of Jones (6-foot-6) and Bonner (6-foot-4) and let them take care of business.
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Washington Mystics
The Mystics have done a decent job of trying to hold down the fort until Elena Delle Donne returns, which should be after the Olympic break. There’s no need rushing her back for a couple of games where there’s a five-week break on the horizon. In her absence, Tina Charles has been a beast, leading the league in scoring with 25.4 points per game.
Ariel Atkins is scoring 17.4 points per game, so Washington gets the bulk of its scoring from two players. The Mystics are shooting just 40.6% from the field even with Charles shooting 46.3%, which lets you know the rest of the team isn’t getting the job done.
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Connecticut at New York Pick
The total moved from 159.5 to 159 while I was in the middle of writing this one and am going to go ahead and play the under 159 here. Charles had a big game when the teams met earlier this year, scoring 29 points in an 86-81 Connecticut victory, but think points might be a little harder to come by here. Jones still has to clear COVID protocols in order to play tonight and with not being able to practice with the team for so long, there could be a little bit of rust in getting her involved.