Seattle Storm vs. Dallas Wings Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/22/21
The lone game on the WNBA schedule brings a matchup between a pair of Western Conference foes down in the Lone Star State. It’s the Seattle Storm on the road as they travel to face the Dallas Wings Saturday night. Seattle comes in off a 90-78 road victory over Minnesota in their previous game Thursday night. Dallas hasn’t played since routing Los Angeles 94-71 in their season opener last Friday. The Storm have won the last eight meetings between the teams, including a pair last season. In the most recent meeting, Seattle outgunned Dallas 107-95 as the home team on September 9, 2020. The Wings haven’t won in the series since earning a 94-90 home win on June 2, 2018.
Seattle Storm Looking to Earn Second Straight Win
Seattle bounced back from a loss at home to Las Vegas, which caused a split in their season-opening two-game set at home with the Aces in a rematch of last season’s WNBA Finals, by rallying to down Minnesota on the road. The Storm entered Friday 2-1 on the season and look to make it back-to-back victories by prevailing here. In the game against Minnesota, Seattle dug a hole early and needed to rally late to get the victory. The Storm trailed by 10 after the opening quarter, by 19 in the second quarter and by 15 at the half. Seattle cut the gap to 10 after three quarters and trailed 75-67 with 4:44 to play before closing the game on a 23-3 run to earn the victory. The Storm shot 49.2% from the field, including 12 of 25 from three-point range, and held a 36-31 edge on the glass in the contest. Jewell Loyd led the Storm with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the victory.
The Storm comes into this contest third in the league in scoring offense with an average of 89 points per game. Seattle is seventh in rebounding (37.7 boards per contest) and is third in the league in assists by dishing out 21.2 dimes per night this year. The Storm is 10th in scoring defense as they allow 85.7 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 22.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists) and Sue Bird (10.3 points, seven assists) are averaging in double figures as well. Coach Dan Hughes has a solid group to work with as his team can get production from Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordin Canada, Candice Dupree, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Mikiah Herbert Harrington and Kiana Williams. The Storm is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 47.2% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is second in the league in three-point field goals made per game (10.3) and is fourth in three-point percentage as they knock down 40.3% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are average at the line, ranking seventh in the league by converting 76.6% of their chances. Epiphanny Prince is expected to make her season debut after serving her quarantine period.
Dallas Wings Seek to Shake Off Rust After Lengthy Layoff
Dallas hasn’t played in over a week as they take the floor for this contest. The Wings opened the season with a convincing thumping of Los Angeles on the road but now have to shake off that extended layoff against the defending champions. In their win over the Sparks, Dallas got off to a slow start as they trailed by nine with 4:48 to play in the first quarter and by seven after one. The Wings got back into the game by outscoring the Sparks 24-14 in the second quarter to take a three-point halftime edge. Dallas outscored Los Angeles 50-30 in the second half to turn the game into a romp but it was a six-point game with 8:27 to play. The Wings then reeled off a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to take an 83-64 lead and you could turn out the lights at that point.
In the game, Dallas shot 53.1% from the field, including eight of 17 from three-point range, and dominated the glass by a 45-25 margin. The Wings held the Sparks to 35.9% shooting from the floor and one has to think the game would have been even more one-sided had Dallas not committed 27 turnovers. Allisha Gray led the Wings with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the victory. Arike Ogunbowale (17 points), Marina Mabley (11 points), Charlie Collier (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Isabelle Harrison (10 points, nine boards) were all in double figures as well. Kayla Thornton, Tyasha Harris, Moriah Jefferson, Chelsea Dungee, Bella Alarie and Dana Evans are all solid pieces in Brian Agler’s rotation.
Pick: Seattle Storm -7
While Dallas walloped Los Angeles in their season opener, they are coming off an eight-day layoff since winning that opener. The Wings also had the benefit of facing a Sparks team that is massively different in composition from last season’s unit and it always takes time to get things together. Here, Dallas has to contend with a Seattle team that has plenty of veteran leadership and continuity, led by the ageless Bird, not to mention former league MVP Stewart at the forefront of their rotation. While Seattle’s defense is going to have to improve as the season wears on, the fact remains that they have the presence to not get rattled. The Storm has found ways to beat the Wings in recent years and this one is nothing different. Give the edge to Seattle, even on the road, as they get the W.
Total Pick: Over 168.5
One thing that we know for sure is that these teams can pile up the points. The Storm is third in the league in scoring offense while the Wings’ average for their one game is tops in the league. Seattle has gone over the mark in all three of their games this season with the lowest combined point total in their contests the 168 points we saw in the win over Minnesota Thursday. Dallas ended up falling a half-point short of the total in their win over the Sparks as the teams combined for 165 points. In the last 10 meetings, the games have been evenly split between over and under in regards to the total. Seeing what both teams have done offensively so far, you have to think that this one will be an up-tempo contest that winds up over the mark.
