Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/9/21
A pair of struggling Eastern Conference teams are on the floor in WNBA action from the Windy City. The Indiana Fever are on the road as they make the trip to face the Chicago Sky Wednesday night. Indiana was clobbered 98-63 on the road by Los Angeles in their previous contest Thursday night. Chicago was knocked off 68-63 on the road by Los Angeles Saturday in their most recent game. The Sky took both meetings in the bubble last season, including a 100-77 victory as the “road” team in the most recent matchup on August 31, 2020. That gave Chicago seven wins in the last nine meetings between the teams.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Get Back in Win Column
Indiana suffered their fifth straight loss as they were flattened on the road by the shorthanded Sparks in their previous contest. The Fever dropped to 1-9 on the season and sit last in the WNBA playoff picture, 3.5 games behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. Against Los Angeles, Indiana was even midway through the first quarter before giving up a 13-0 run. The Fever never recovered from that. Indiana’s deficit was 11 after the opening quarter, 23 at the half and it ballooned to as much as 38 in the second half. The Fever shot 34.3% from the field, including six of 20 from three-point range, and allowed the Sparks to shoot 56.1% in the contest. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 15 points in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 12th in the league in scoring offense with 74.7 points per game. Indiana is seventh in the league in rebounding (35.5 boards per contest) and is 10th in the league in assists with an average of 18.1 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 89.6 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of two players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 14.1 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.7 points, nine rebounds, 1.2 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.2 points, 3.6 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (9.9 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 40.3% as a team on the year. The Fever are 11th in threes per game (4.7) while standing 12th by hitting 26.6% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is seventh in free throw shooting as they sink 79.2% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar missed the last seven games with an ankle injury and is questionable here.
Chicago Sky Trying to Stop Slide at Seven
Chicago started the season with back-to-back wins but it’s been all downhill since that point. The Sky have dropped seven straight games after falling to Los Angeles Saturday in their most recent contest. That puts Chicago 11th in the WNBA playoff picture, two games behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. Against Los Angeles Saturday, Chicago struggled for most of the first half, regrouped in the third quarter and held a lead in the fourth before letting it slip away. The Sky trailed by 11 with a minute to play in the opening quarter, by seven after one and by nine at the half. Chicago got back to even at the end of the third quarter and held a 57-53 lead with 5:40 to play but gave up a 12-1 run over the next five minutes to trail 65-58. The Sky couldn’t get closer than four in the final minute and went down in defeat. Chicago shot 33.9% from the field, including five of 18 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 18 times in the loss. Kahleah Copper led the Sky with 15 points and seven rebounds in the contest.
The Sky is 11th in the league in scoring offense as they muster 75.9 points per contest this season. Chicago is second in rebounding (38.6 boards a night) and ninth in assists by dishing out 18.2 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are third in the league by allowing an average of 78.1 points a contest. Kahleah Copper is one of six players averaging in double figures for the team with 14.6 points plus 4.8 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (16 points, eight boards), Astou Ndour-Fall (10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (13.2 points), Courtney Vandersloot (11.7 points, 7.9 assists), Allie Quigley, Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 12th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 38.3% as a team. The Sky are near the bottom of the pack in threes per game as they are 10th with 5.7 per contest: they are 11th in three-point shooting at 31.5%. Chicago comes in first at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 86.3% at the stripe. Parker (ankle) is questionable after missing the last eight games.
Pick: Chicago Sky -10.5
We’re looking at a matchup of a pair of teams that are a combined 3-16 on the season. Indiana has lost five straight while Chicago has dropped seven in a row. These teams are the two worst scoring offenses in the league but after that, things start to separate. Indiana has lost each of their last five games by at least 15 points three of those have come by at least 23 points. Meanwhile, Chicago has suffered six losses by eight points or less in that seven-game skid with two coming in overtime and a third on a half court three-pointer at the buzzer. The Fever are 0-6 on the road this season and the Sky is bound to bounce back. Give Chicago the upper hand here.
Total: Under 158.5
With two weak offensive attacks, one has to be concerned about what kind of offensive production to expect in this one. These are two of the three worst teams in field goal percentage and the Fever have to contend with a Sky team that has been good on the defensive end of the floor. Meanwhile, if Chicago is going to get right, facing an Indiana team that is last in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense (48.1%) and three-point field goal percentage defense (45.2%) this season is as good a chance as you can get. Indiana has seen the over hit in five of their 10 games while the Sky has seen the under hit in six of their nine contests. The under has hit in seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams: this one falls short of the mark as well.
