Atlanta Dream vs. Seattle Storm Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/2/21
It’s an interconference clash on the parquet floor in WNBA action from the Emerald City. The Atlanta Dream are on the road as they travel to face the Seattle Storm Friday night. Atlanta split a two-game home set with New York, winning 73-69 Tuesday night in their most recent contest. Seattle was edged 95-92 in overtime on the road by Las Vegas in their most recent game Sunday afternoon. The Storm took the first two meetings this season, both on the road, as they prevailed 95-71 on June 9 and followed that up with an 86-75 victory on June 11. That extended Seattle’s win streak in the series to five games.
Atlanta Dream Looking to Earn Road Upset
Atlanta bounced back from losing three straight and seven of their previous eight by earning a tight win over New York in their previous contest. The Dream improved to 6-9 on the season with the win and entered Thursday 11th in the WNBA playoff picture, one game behind the Mercury for the final playoff spot. In Tuesday’s game, Atlanta led by two after the opening quarter, by six at the half and by four after three quarters. The Dream trailed by four with 4:02 to play but held the Liberty scoreless the rest of the way, scoring the final eight points, to earn the victory. Atlanta shot 35.5% from the field, including seven of 18 from three-point range, and forced 15 New York turnovers in the victory. Courtney Williams led the Dream with 18 points in the victory.
The Dream is 4th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 83.2 points a game this season. Atlanta is 11th in the league in rebounding (33.8 boards a night) and stands 10th in assists with an average of 17.7 per game. The Dream are 11th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 87 points a contest this season. Tiffany Hayes is one of three players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 17.6 points a night. Chennedy Carter contributes 16.1 points plus 3.4 assists per contest. Odyssey Sims, Crystal Bradford, Tianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Williams, Monique Billings, Courtney Williams (17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists), Aari McDonald, Cheyenne Parker and Shekinna Strickland are other key rotation pieces for coach Nicki Collen. The Dream are 9th in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.1% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands seventh in threes per game (seven) and 9th in three-point percentage as they hit 33.9% of their long-range attempts. The Dream is 11th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 74.2% 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.
Seattle Storm Trying to Regroup at Home
Seattle suffered their second straight loss as they were dropped on the road by Las Vegas for their first road defeat of the season Sunday. The Storm dropped to 12-4 on the year and entered Thursday tied with the Aces for the best record in the league. They held the second seed in the WNBA playoff picture because the Aces have taken two of the three meetings this year. Against Las Vegas Sunday, Seattle led by five after the opening quarter, by five at the half and by seven after three quarters only to end up in overtime. In overtime, the teams traded leads until Seattle gave up the lead for good with 10.6 seconds to play. They missed a chance to take the lead when Sue Bird missed a pull-up three-point attempt and then misfired on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. The Storm shot 46.3% from the field, including eight of 26 from three-point range, and held a 43-35 edge on the glass yet fell short. Breanna Stewart poured in 35 points and grabbed 11 boards to lead Seattle in a loss.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 88.1 points per game. Seattle is fourth in rebounding (37 boards per contest) and is first in the league in assists by dishing out 22.9 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 4th in scoring defense as they allow 80.5 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 21.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists) and Sue Bird (10.9 points, 6.1 assists) are solid secondary options. Coach Noelle Quinn has a solid group to work with as her team can get production from Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordin Canada, Candice Dupree, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Epiphanny Prince and Kiana Williams. The Storm are second in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 46.2% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is third in the league in three-point field goals made per game (9.1) and first in three-point percentage as they knock down 39.4% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are average at the line, ranking sixth in the league by converting 81.8% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant.
Pick: Seattle Storm
Atlanta may have managed to come up with the win over New York in the second game of their set but the fact remains that they have struggled without Hayes. The Dream had dropped seven of eight before beating the Liberty but have their hands full here. Atlanta is second-worst in the league in scoring defense, worst in field goal percentage defense (46.5%) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage defense (39.5%) this season. That doesn’t bode well against a Seattle team that is motivated to get back on track after back-to-back losses. Seattle shoots the ball well and exploits the weak Dream defense to get the win at home.
Total: Over
Atlanta has seen the over hit in nine of their 15 games this season. The Dream likes to play a fast pace and try to run teams into submission. Without Hayes, things are a bit more challenging and they’ll need as many points as possible against the Storm. Seattle has seen the over hit in half of their 16 games, though just three of their last 11 contests have ended up over the mark. The two meetings between the teams this season ended up falling short of the total by 4.5 and 10.5 points, respectively with the totals in those games set at 170.5 and 171.5 points, respectively. Look for this one to end up over the number as both teams crank up the offense.
