Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings Prediction, Preview and Odds - 6/17/21
A pair of Western Conference teams take the floor in the Lone Star State in a WNBA tilt. The Minnesota Lynx are on the road as they make the trip to face the Dallas Wings Thursday night. Minnesota was knocked off 105-89 at home by Chicago in their most recent contest Tuesday night. Dallas was dropped 85-78 on the road by Las Vegas in their most recent contest Sunday night. Last season, the Lynx won both meetings in the bubble, including an 88-75 win as the “road” team in the most recent matchup on September 4, 2020. That gave Minnesota three straight wins and nine victories in the last 10 meetings in the series.
Minnesota Lynx Try to Bounce Back on the Road
Minnesota had won four of their previous five before getting outgunned by Chicago at home Tuesday night. The Lynx entered Wednesday 4-6, leaving them 11th in the standings, half a game behind the Sparks for the final playoff spot. Minnesota found themselves in a big hole in the opening quarter as they trailed 39-23 after one. The Lynx clawed back to within two with 2:35 to play in the first half before giving up an 11-4 run to head into intermission down nine. Minnesota never got closer than that in the second half and trailed by as many as 27 en route to the defeat. The Lynx shot 45.7% from the field, including five of 14 from three-point range, but turned the ball over 20 times while allowing the Sky to shoot 57.1% from the floor. Napheesa Collier led the Lynx with 27 points in the loss.
On the season, the Lynx are 6th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 81.5 points per game. Minnesota is 10th in rebounding as they collect 34.7 boards a night while the team is fourth in assists by dishing 19.9 dimes a night. The Lynx are eighth in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 82.7 points per contest this season. Sylvia Fowles is second on the team with 16.5 points plus 8.7 rebounds per contest. Kayla McBride (12 points), Crystal Dangerfield (11.1 points, 4.1 assists) and Aerial Powers (10 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) are solid secondary scoring options. Damiris Dantas, Napheesa Collier (17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists), Jessica Shepard, Layshia Clarendon (8.7 points, 4.5 assists), Bridget Carleton, Rachael Banham, Natalie Achonwa and Linnae Harper are looked at to be contributors for coach Cheryl Reeve. Minnesota stands fifth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.1% from the field as a team this year. The Lynx are 8th in the league in three-pointers per game (seven) and 10th in three-point shooting as they hit 33.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Minnesota is 6th in the league in free throw shooting as they hit 80.9% of their attempts at the charity stripe. Powers (hamstring), Shepard (groin), Achonwa (knee) and Rennia Davis (foot) are out indefinitely at this point in time.
Dallas Wings Look to Regroup in Return Home
Dallas finished a five-game road trip 3-2 as they were dropped on the road by Las Vegas in their most recent contest. The Wings fell to 5-6 on the season and entered Wednesday sixth in the WNBA playoff picture though they were just half a game ahead of the ninth-place Sky to remain on the right side of the playoff cut line. Dallas trailed by as many as 11 in the opening quarter but closed the stanza on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to five. The Wings trailed by two at the half and after three quarters before giving up an 8-2 run to trail 73-65 with 6:24 to play. Dallas closed within two with 2:28 to go before giving up an 8-0 run over the next minute and change to seal their fate. The Wings shot 32.5% from the field, including five of 24 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 41-36. Satou Sabally led Dallas with 24 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
The Wings come into this one third in the league in scoring with 85.5 points per game this season. Dallas is first in rebounding (39.2 boards per contest) but rank 9th in the league in assists with 18.2 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 8th by allowing 83.1 points per contest. Allisha Gray is one of four players averaging in double figures as she puts up 10 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on the year. Arike Ogunbowale (20.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists), Marina Mabrey (16.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists), Isabelle Harrison (8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (9.5 points, 6.7 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally (14.4 points, seven boards), Dana Evans, Kristine Anigwe and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are eighth in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 41.7% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.3) and stand seventh in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 34.1% from long range. The Wings are fourth in free throw shooting as they convert 82.1% of their chances at the stripe.
Pick: Dallas Wings
Dallas has had a few days to rest and recover after their five-game road trip and they are at home for this contest. The Wings are at full strength in their rotation, which makes them a dangerous team. Meanwhile, Minnesota is missing several key pieces like Powers, Achonwa and Shepard, which is going to make things tough for them here. The Lynx are 0-3 on the road this season and have been outscored by an average of 8.3 points per game in those outings. Dallas has to be happy being at home here as they have played eight of their first 11 games on the road this season. The Wings have enough weapons to outgun the Lynx here to earn the victory.
Total: Over
Minnesota is coming off a game where they put up 89 points and still lost convincingly as their defense was shoddy. The Lynx gave up 105 points to Chicago, allowing the Sky to shoot 57.1% from the floor, including 12 of 26 from three-point range, in the contest. Those aren’t the kind of numbers you want to bring to the table when it comes to facing a Dallas team that has the firepower to pile up points in a hurry. Dallas is third in the league in scoring offense and they have plenty of options to choose from on that end of the floor. The Lynx have seen the total go over in six of their 10 games coming into this one. Dallas has actually seen the under hit six times in their 11 games with one push. After seeing Minnesota implode defensively Tuesday night, look for this one to end up over the total.
