Los Angeles Sparks vs. Chicago Sky Preview, Prediction and Odds - 5/30/21
It’s an interconference clash on the WNBA hardwood between a couple teams looking to build some positive momentum in the Windy City. The Los Angeles Sparks are on the road as they make the trip to face the Chicago Sky to close a two-game set Sunday evening. In the first half of this two-game set Friday night, it was the Sparks picking up their first win of the season by earning a 76-61 victory. That gave Los Angeles eight wins in the last 11 meetings. Will the Sparks sweep the two-game set or can the Sky get back to form and snap their recent slide by prevailing at home here?
Los Angeles Sparks Seeking to Even Record
Los Angeles dropped their first two games of the season but managed to break into the win column as they took down Chicago with a solid defensive showing. The Sparks now look to sweep the two-game set and even their record on the year here. In Friday’s contest, Los Angeles fought through a see-saw first half that saw them trail early, lead by one after the opening quarter and by five at the half before taking command. The Sparks used a massive 24-4 run in the second half to turn a one-point lead into a 21-point advantage with 8:33 to play and went on to the win. Los Angeles shot only 39.4% from the field, including nine of 19 from three-point range, and overcame 19 turnovers by forcing 27 Chicago miscues in the game. Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks with 14 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
On the season, Los Angeles is last in the league in scoring offense as they average 72 points per game. The Sparks are last in rebounding (27.7 boards per game) and last in assists (16.7) this season. Los Angeles is 9th in scoring defense as they give up an average of 84 points a night. Nneka Ogwumike leads the team with 17 points plus 7.3 rebounds a game this season. Chiney Ogwumike (nine points, 5.7 boards) and Kristi Tolliver (8.3 points, three assists) are solid secondary scoring options. Derek Fisher hopes to get more from role players like Brittney Sykes, Erica Wheeler, Te’a Cooper, Amanda Zahui B, Arella Guirantes and Bria Holmes. Los Angeles is last in field goal percentage on the season as they shoot 37.2% from the field as a team on the year. The Lakers are sixth in three-pointers per game (seven) and 8th in three-point shooting as they convert only 32.8% from beyond the arc this season. Los Angeles is last in success at the charity stripe as they cash in 70.2% of their attempts on the year. Jasmine Walker was lost for the season with a torn ACL that she suffered against Las Vegas May 21.
Chicago Sky Hoping to Reverse Fortunes
Chicago started the year with back-to-back wins but after falling to Los Angeles Friday, enters this one with three straight losses on the ledger. The Sky hopes to regroup and get back in the win column here to even their record on the season. Against the Sparks, Chicago led by seven early but trailed by one after the opening quarter. The Sky hung around and was within five at the half. They cut the lead to one early in the third quarter before giving up a 14-0 run that left them down 54-39 and never recovered. Chicago shot 41.2% from the field, including six of 19 from three-point range, but turned the ball over a staggering 27 times. Diamond DeShields led the Sky with 14 points in the loss.
The Sky is ninth in the league in scoring offense as they muster 76.8 points per contest this season. Chicago is third in rebounding (38.4 boards a night) and tied for sixth in assists by dishing out 19 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are second in the league by allowing an average of 78.4 points a contest. Kahleah Copper leads the team with 16.6 points plus 3.8 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (16 points, eight boards), Astou Ndour (11.6 points, eight rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (10.2 points, 7.4 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (14.2 points), Courtney Vandersloot (nine points, eight assists), Allie Quigley, Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 39.8% as a team. The Sky is in the middle of the pack in threes per game as they are ninth with 5.4 per contest: they are sixth in three-point shooting at 34.6%. Chicago comes in second at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 86.8% at the stripe. Parker (ankle) and Quigley (hamstring), who have both missed the last four games, are questionable here. Dolson is out for the time being as she is part of Team USA’s three-on-three team, which is in qualifying for the Summer Olympics. She’ll be back in early June.
Pick: Chicago Sky
The biggest problem for the Sky has been the way they’ve turned the ball over in the last three games. Chicago has committed 60 turnovers in their three-game skid, including 48 in the last two games. The Sky hopes to have Parker and Quigley back in the mix, which would help take care of that issue and give Vandersloot a bit of a break when it comes to running the show. Los Angeles has struggled mightily offensively and even though they earned the win on Friday night, it’s hard to have faith in a team that is near the bottom of the league in a majority of categories. The Sparks aren’t a great team right now and they are still trying to figure out their rotation. Give the Sparks the edge as they split their two-game series.
Total: Under
Los Angeles turned in their best game of the season in their win Friday night as they were solid defensively after giving up 94 and 97 points in the first two games. With that said, all three of their games have ended up falling short of the mark coming into this one. Chicago has seen the under hit in three of their five games this season. The Sky has the league’s second-best scoring defense and they lead the league in field goal percentage defense (39%) on the season. That’s a prime matchup seeing that the Sparks are the league’s worst shooting team so far this year. This one ends up under the mark as the Sky does a solid job on the defensive end of the floor.
