Dallas Wings vs. Seattle Storm, Preview and Odds - 6/6/21
A pair of Western Conference teams tangle on the hardwood in a WNBA clash in the Pacific Northwest. The Dallas Wings are on the road as they take on the Seattle Storm Sunday night in the second game of a two-game set. In the opening game of the series Friday night, it was Seattle clawing out a 105-102 overtime victory that went right down to the final buzzer, extending their win streak over the Wings to 10 games. Will Dallas find a way to bounce back and come up with a road win or can the Storm keep on rolling along with the league’s top mark?
Dallas Wings Looking to Earn Road Victory
Dallas rallied multiple times in Friday’s game but couldn’t come up with the clutch play when the game was on the line as they fell for the second time in overtime this season against the Storm. The Wings dropped to 2-5 on the season and stood 10th in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Mystics and Lynx for the final playoff spot. Dallas led by six early, trailed by six after the opening quarter and by three at the half. The Wings were down 10 midway through the third quarter before rallying to take a one-point lead after three quarters. Dallas found themselves down 10 again with 4:12 to go before closing regulation on a 14-4 run to force overtime. The game was even in the final seconds before the Wings gave up a rainbow three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left and that handed them a loss. Dallas shot 44.8% from the field, including 11 of 28 from three-point range, and clanked seven of their 12 free throws. Marina Mabrey led the Wings with 24 points in the loss.
The Wings come into this one second in the league in scoring with 90.4 points per game this season. Dallas is first in rebounding (38.9 boards per contest) but rank 6th in the league in assists with 19.1 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 11th by allowing 89 points per contest. Allisha Gray is third on the team by averaging 19 points, six rebounds and four assists per game on the year. Arike Ogunbowale (21.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists), Marina Mabrey (20 points, six rebounds, 3.7 assists), Isabelle Harrison (8.1 points, 6.3 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (12.5 points, 8.7 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally, Dana Evans, Kristine Anigwe and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are fifth in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 43.7% as a team. Dallas is third in three-pointers per game (9.3) and stand fifth in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 37.6% from long range. The Wings are seventh in free throw shooting as they convert 78.9% of their chances at the stripe. Thornton missed Friday’s game with a knee injury and is questionable here.
Seattle Storm Rolling With League’s Top Mark
Seattle nearly let the game slip away but regrouped in the final seconds of overtime to run their win streak to six games by beating the Wings. The Storm entered Saturday holding the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game ahead of Eastern Conference-leading Connecticut and 1.5 games up on Las Vegas for the top spot in the Western Conference. Seattle trailed by six early in the first quarter, took a six-point lead after one and was up three at the half. The Storm led by 10 in the third quarter only to trail by one after three quarters. Seattle regrouped, taking a 10-point lead with 4:12 to play only to find themselves even at the end of regulation. In the extra session, the game was tied in the final seconds after a couple of point-blank misses by the Wings. Jewell Loyd hit a rainbow three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to break a 102-102 tie and hand the win over to Seattle. The Storm shot 50% from the field, including 10 of 26 from three-point range, and knocked down 23 of their 29 free throw attempts in the game. Loyd led the way with 25 points and seven assists in the win.
The Storm comes into this contest first in the league in scoring offense with an average of 91.5 points per game. Seattle is third in rebounding (37.8 boards per contest) and is first in the league in assists by dishing out 23 dimes per night this year. The Storm is 10th in scoring defense as they allow 86 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 23.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists) and Sue Bird (10.9 points, 6.4 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 45.8% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is second in the league in three-point field goals made per game (9.5) and is second in three-point percentage as they knock down 39% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are average at the line, ranking fifth in the league by converting 81.3% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant.
Pick: Seattle Storm -9
We know that Dallas can put up points quick, fast and in a hurry. The problem for the Wings is that they have major issues when it comes to slowing the opposition down, which has been a major wrench in their attempted success this season. It’s definitely a major issue when it comes to dealing with a Storm team with a trip of dangerous options plus a good group of secondary players that can contribute. We already saw Seattle hang 100 and 105 points on Dallas in their two meetings this season. Playing at home works in Seattle’s favor, as does the fact that they have such a cohesive group. With the issues that the Wings have on the defensive end of the floor, you have to look at this one going to the hosts.
Total: Over 176
The first meeting between the teams a couple weeks ago saw them combine for 197 points and Friday’s was even higher at 207 points. Dallas has seen the over hit in four of their seven games but they are second in scoring offense in addition to second-worst in scoring defense. Meanwhile, Seattle leads the league in scoring offense while they are below average on the defensive end of the floor. The Storm have seen the over hit in six of their eight games on the year. In the last 11 meetings between the teams, we’ve seen the over hit in seven of them, including each of the last three matchups. Look for this one to be another track meet type of game that zips past the mark.
