Seattle Storm vs. Chicago Sky Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/15/21
The WNBA season enters its home stretch as the post-Olympic schedule gets underway with an interconference tilt in the Windy City. It’s the Seattle Storm on the road as they make the trip to face the Chicago Sky Sunday afternoon. Seattle beat Connecticut 79-57 on a neutral floor in Phoenix Wednesday night to win the Commissioner’s Cup. Chicago fell 89-85 in overtime at home to Washington back on July 10 in their most recent game. Seattle has won three straight meetings and eight of the last 10 matchups between the teams. That includes an 88-74 victory as the “road” team in the most recent matchup on August 29, 2020.
Seattle Storm Looking to Stay Hot
Seattle came out of the post-Olympic break by taking care of business against Connecticut in the Commissioner’s Cup final, earning $30,000 for each player on the team in the process. The Storm enter the second half of the year with a one-game lead over the Aces for the top spot in both the Western Conference and the WNBA playoff picture. Against the Sun Wednesday, Seattle jumped to a 28-18 lead after the opening quarter and didn’t look back after that. The Storm led by 11 at the half and put the game out of reach by outscoring the Sun 22-5 in the third quarter en route to the victory. Seattle shot 49.2% from the field, including eight of 23 from three-point range, and limited the Sun to 32.9% shooting in the contest. Breanna Stewart finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four steals to earn MVP honors.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 86.4 points per game. Seattle is fourth in rebounding (36.4 boards per contest) and is first in the league in assists by dishing out 21.6 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 3rd in scoring defense as they allow 79.6 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 20.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (17.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists) and Sue Bird (10.9 points, 5.5 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, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Epiphanny Prince and Kiana Williams. The Storm are third in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 45.7% 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 39.2% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are above average at the line, ranking third in the league by converting 82.9% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant.
Chicago Sky Trying to Regain Momentum
Chicago dropped their final two games before the All-Star and Olympic breaks so they are looking to get back on track here. The Sky fell to 10-10 on the season and enter this game holding the fifth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games clear of the ninth-place Wings to remain on the right side of the cut line. Against the Mystics, Chicago gave up a 14-4 run over the final three minutes of the opening quarter to trail by nine. The Sky cut the deficit to two at the half, were down eight after three quarters and by 11 with 7:12 to play in regulation. Chicago stormed back to tie the game and force overtime. They had no answers after Washington scored the first six points of the extra session as they tallied just three points in overtime. Chicago shot 43.6% from the field, including six of 27 from three-point range, and were beaten 44-35 on the boards. Stefanie Dolson led the Sky with 20 points in the loss.
The Sky is 6th in the league in scoring offense as they muster 82.2 points per contest this season. Chicago is fifth in rebounding (36.2 boards a night) and second in assists by dishing out 21.2 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are second in the league by allowing an average of 79.4 points a contest. Kahleah Copper is one of five players averaging in double figures for the team with 13.8 points plus 4.9 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (13.3 points, 8.8 boards), Astou Ndour-Fall (8.6 points, six rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (eight points, 5.7 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (11.9 points), Courtney Vandersloot (11.5 points, 9.1 assists), Allie Quigley (12.1 points), Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 6th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.9% as a team. The Sky are near the bottom of the pack in threes per game as they are 9th with 6.8 per contest: they are 8th in three-point shooting at 33.4%. Chicago comes in first at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 86.5% at the stripe.
Chicago has been clicking offensively heading into the break but they face a team that is even more effective on the offensive end of the floor here. Perhaps more importantly, Seattle had the Commissioner’s Cup to knock the rust off from the extended break and that gives them an advantage over the Sky. The Storm has been dangerous offensively and they have owned the Sky in recent years, winning eight of the last 10 meetings. Stewart, Loyd and Bird are locked in as they try to maintain their position atop the WNBA playoff picture. Chicago can’t slow Seattle down enough here as the Storm gets the victory on the road.
Pick: Seattle Storm
Seattle has seen the under hit in 12 of their 21 games this year. Chicago, meanwhile, has seen the over hit in 11 of their 20 games, mainly due to an influx of offensive production after their slow start to the season. With two of the top three teams in the league in scoring defense, the potential for a lower scoring tilt is there. Seattle has seen five straight games and seven of their last 10 end up under the mark. On the flip side, Chicago has gone the other way with three straight and seven of their previous 10 going over the total. The under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between the teams and with Chicago having to shake off the rust, this one ends up short of the total.
Total: Under
