Dallas Wings vs. Minnesota Lynx Prediction and Odds - 7/7/21
A pair of Western Conference teams take the floor in a WNBA tilt from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Dallas Wings are on the road as they travel to face the Minnesota Lynx Wednesday night. Dallas comes in off a 99-96 road loss to New York in their previous contest Monday night. Minnesota swept a two-game series from Phoenix on the road, drubbing the Mercury 99-68 Saturday in their most recent contest. The teams split two meetings in Dallas earlier this season with Minnesota prevailing 85-73 on June 17 before the Wings bounced back with a 95-77 victory on their home floor in the most recent game June 19.
Dallas Wings Hoping to Regroup
Dallas had won three of their previous four but their defense let them down in a loss to New York on the road Monday night. The Wings entered Tuesday 9-10 on the season and holding the seventh seed in the WNBA playoff picture, one game ahead of ninth-place Washington to remain on the right side of the cut line. Dallas trailed by as many as nine in the first quarter, by eight after the opening quarter, by four at the half and by 10 in the third quarter before regrouping. The Wings rallied to tie the game at 83 with 4:21 to play in the contest before giving up an 11-4 run to trail 94-87 with 1:53 to go. Dallas couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way to wind up with the loss. The Wings shot 50% from the field, including seven of 16 from three-point range, but allowed the Liberty to shoot 56.3% in the game. Isabelle Harrison led Dallas with 23 points and seven boards off the bench.
The Wings come into this one third in the league in scoring with 85.8 points per game this season. Dallas is third in rebounding (36.8 boards per contest) but rank 8th in the league in assists with 18.4 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 8th by allowing 83 points per contest. Arike Ogunbowale (19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists) is one of four players scoring in double figures for the Wings this season. Allisha Gray (11.3 points), Marina Mabrey (14.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists), Isabelle Harrison (9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (8.5 points, 5.8 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally (13 points, 6.2 boards), Dana Evans and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are sixth in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 43.1% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.6) and stand third in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 36.7% from long range. The Wings are second in free throw shooting as they convert 83.9% of their chances at the stripe.
Minnesota Lynx Looking to Stay Hot
Minnesota bombed Phoenix on the road over the weekend to sweep a two-game set and run their win streak to four games. The Lynx entered Tuesday 9-7 on the season and held the fourth seed in the WNBA playoff picture. Minnesota trailed 9-4 early before going on a 10-0 run to take a 14-9 edge and didn’t let Phoenix closer than two the rest of the way. After leading by four after the opening quarter, the Lynx outscored the Mercury 57-33 in the middle two stanzas to put the game away. Minnesota shot 55.1% from the field, including nine of 24 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 41-26 in the contest. Kayla McBride led the Wild with 24 points in the victory.
On the season, the Lynx are 5th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 83.4 points per game. Minnesota is 6th in rebounding as they collect 35.4 boards a night while the team is fourth in assists by dishing 20.6 dimes a night. The Lynx are seventh in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 82 points per contest this season. Sylvia Fowles is second on the team with 16.5 points plus 10 rebounds per contest. Kayla McBride (13.9 points), Crystal Dangerfield (9.4 points, 3.8 assists) and Aerial Powers (10 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) are solid secondary scoring options. Damiris Dantas, Napheesa Collier (17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists), Jessica Shepard, Layshia Clarendon (9.8 points, 4.8 assists), Bridget Carleton, Rachael Banham, Natalie Achonwa and Linnae Harper are looked at to be contributors for coach Cheryl Reeve. Minnesota stands third in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 45.3% from the field as a team this year. The Lynx are 8th in the league in three-pointers per game (seven) and 10th in three-point shooting as they hit 33.5% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Minnesota is 5th in the league in free throw shooting as they hit 82.8% of their attempts at the charity stripe. Powers is out eight to 10 weeks after undergoing thumb surgery June 18 for a torn UCL. Achonwa (knee) and Rennia Davis (foot) are out indefinitely at this point in time.
Pick: Minnesota Lynx
Dallas had won three of four but they had massive defensive issues in their loss to New York on Monday night. The Wings allowed the Liberty to shoot 56.3% from the floor and 15 of 31 from beyond the arc in the contest. That kind of defense doesn’t work against a Minnesota team that has won four straight and five of their previous six games. Minnesota is third in the league in field goal percentage and they have several key contributors that can do big damage on any given night. The Lynx have gone 5-3 at home on the season and they have momentum on their side. Give the edge to Minnesota as Collier and Fowles lead the way to a fifth straight win.
Total: Over
Dallas loves to run and push the tempo. The problem is when they don’t play defense, like they failed to do against New York, as it leads to inflated point totals. On the year, the Wings have seen the under hit in 10 of their 19 games with one push on the season. With that said, the Wings have seen the over hit in each of their last three games entering this one. Minnesota has seen the over hit in 10 of their 16 games this year, including four of their previous five games entering this one. The teams went over the total once and under once in their two meetings this season but we’ve seen them go over the mark in four of the last six meetings. Look for this one to wind up over the mark as well.
