Just when you thought the WNBA playoffs couldn’t get any more interesting, a pair of Game 3s left the basketball world speechless over the weekend.
A little over 48 hours later, we’re all set to run it back. If Aces-Storm or Sun-Sky is anything in Game 4 like they were in Game 3, we’ll be in for a treat.
So much is on the line. Can A’ja Wilson or Chelsea Gray deliver another wild performance to lift the Aces to the WNBA Finals, or will Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart force a Game 5? Is Candace Parker going to deliver Chicago to consecutive Finals appearances, or will reigning MVP Jonquel Jones have something to say about that?
Game 4, ladies and gents — here are the players to bet on.
What a heck of an opening round of postseason basketball we just witnessed.
Each series provided its hint of suspicion, including Vegas nearly trailing an undermanned Phoenix Mercury in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Sky and Sun surviving win-or-go-home games on the road, and the Storm putting away a sneaky longshot-favorite in Elena Delle Donne and the Mystics.
But when the dust settled, all four of the higher-seeded teams were left standing. And as we roll into the semis, the action is only going to get better.
Can the Aces and Sun make it to the Finals to amend for their disappointing semifinal exits a year ago? Or will the Sky and Storm make it back to the finals for a shot at another title?
Sylvia Fowles will forever be remembered as a basketball icon. If you ever decide to recite Fowles’ career achievements, you might want to take a few extra breaths.
A WNBA MVP. Two WNBA titles. Two WNBA Finals MVPs. (Takes a breath) Eight All-Star selections. Four Defensive Player of the Year awards. (Takes another breath) The only player in WNBA history to record at least 4,000 rebounds (!).
Suffice to say, Fowles created a lot of memories over her legendary 15-year career. Her final game, with the Lynx taking on the Sun (-6) Sunday, was bound to be emotional. And when the all-time great center stepped off the court for the final time in the closing moments, the hometown Connecticut crowd honored Fowles with a touching standing ovation:
.@SylviaFowles checks out for the final time in her WNBA career for the @minnesotalynx at Mohegan Sun Arena where she gets a standing ovation 💐
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 14, 2022
Oh wow. Look at that emotional outpouring from Fowles’ teammates. Just listen to the roar of that crowd that does not wain whatsoever. A fitting tribute to one of the best ever as she hangs her sneakers up. Someone, please stop cutting onions!
Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the final Thursday slate of the regular season.
The three-month WNBA regular season is all but over, yet in its final days, there’s still so much to play for.
The outcomes of today’s two-game slate could end up clearing some of the clutter around the playoff seeding, but only if the two road teams win. Victories by the home teams will set the stage for a wild final few days of the season.
So, let’s dive into these two games. Should we bet money on chaos? Or bet money on clarity?
What a powerful moment in support of Brittney Griner.
The WNBA world continues to throw its support behind Brittney Griner.
On Thursday, 31-year-old Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after being detained in Russia in February for carrying less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner called the incident a “honest mistake”, saying she never meant to hurt anyone with her actions.
The situation is dire for Griner — a gay, black woman — and the sports world knows it, though it seems as if there’s still hope for a possible prisoner exchange. After the sentencing, the Connecticut Sun and the Phoenix Mercury, Griner’s current team, held a 42-second moment of silence to show their support for the star.
Tonight, members of the Connecticut Sun join our colleagues on the Phoenix Mercury at half court for 42 seconds, Brittney Griner’s jersey number, to recognize the gravity of the moment and collectively send her strength.
We are inspired every day by BG’s strength and we are steadfastly committed to keeping her top-of-mind publicly until she is safely back on American soil.
We invite all of you here tonight to stand in solidarity with us.
Bringing Brittney and other wrongfully detained Americans home is the primary objective. We are and will remain focused and unified. This is a time for compassion and a shared understanding that getting a deal done to bring Americans home will be hard, but it is urgent and it is the right thing to do.
It is time they come home swiftly and safely.
Here’s hoping Griner is brought back home as quickly as possible.
Kyrie Irving has all the leverage with the Nets even though it seems like he has none
Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
What’s good, family. It’s your boy Sykes once again with another edition of Layup Lines. Let’s talk about the Brooklyn Nets — more specifically, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Let’s be honest about this — if Irving wasn’t tied at the hip with Durant, there’s no way he’d be a Brooklyn Net at this point. He’s only played in 103 games in the last 3 seasons and has lost himself a lot of money between injury, his choice to remain unvaccinated and just plain being away from the team.
One ould argue that his part-time status upended the team’s chemistry when he returned — they were once the 1st overall seed in the East and barely finished at 7. Ultimately, they were swept in the postseason and looked like a team that didn’t know each other at all.
et, still. He feels like he can talk about “managing the Nets franchise” as one of the centerpieces on the team.
Irving can’t really walk away from the Nets — he won’t find a sweeter deal anywhere else. There aren’t many teams out there with cap space. The ones that do aren’t contenders.
The Nets want to give Irving a short-term, incentive-laden deal but Irving isn’t here for it. He’s looking for big cash and big guarantees, as any star player in the NBA would.
Normally, a player who has missed as much time as Irving has couldn’t play those cards. Yet he’s able to credibly hold his hand right now.
Why? Because Kevin Durant is his homie. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski laid it out for us in a recent report on ESPN+. If Irving leaves, there’s a chance KD might leave, too. And Brooklyn doesn’t want that.
“For everything owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks did to assemble one of the modern NBA’s most talented Big 3s, Irving’s impenetrable connection to Durant looms as a domino to the dismantling of the roster. Brooklyn is straddling the narrowest of walkways: Keeping conviction on Irving’s contract talks and keeping Durant’s desire to stay a Net.”
This is like when somebody threatens to take the ball home while playing pickup at the local court because they don’t like the rules everyone is playing by. It’s their ball, so they get to make the decisions.
Irving is Durant’s friend. It was partially because of him that Durant is even in Brooklyn. Without him, there is no Durant in Brooklyn. And if they shoo Irving away, there’s a chance they might shoo Durant away, too.
Durant is obviously his own man. He makes his own decisions. But if there’s a greater than 1% chance that Irving not being there makes Durant unhappy? Brooklyn will get a deal done. That’s just how these things work. It’s hard to get star-caliber players in the NBA. Losing one is OK — especially if you’ve got a Durant on the backend of things. But losing two? Nah, that’s unmanageable. Irving knows that and he’s operating accordingly.
If there’s one thing to take away from this whole scenario it’s that it’s always good to have friends in high places.
Let me take some notes.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
John Wall just got the sweetest revenge on the Houston Rockets.
They didn’t play him at all last year and it was one of the most embarrassing situations in the NBA. A perfectly healthy player just chilling. Getting paid $42 million to do nothing.
“So here’s where we ultimately are with this one. The Houston Rockets will have to either pay the man his money to sit on the bench, pay him some negotiated sum of money to find another team or just trade him to another team that will pay him that money to actually play.”
Good on Wall. The two sides are reportedly willing to negotiate a buyout here, but he’s getting paid regardless. That sounds like a sweet deal to me.
Sun (-10.5, -600) vs. Liberty (+420), O/U 162.5, 7 PM ET
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
The Connecticut Sun have really had the Liberty’s number in their last few matchups over the years. They’ve won 4 of 5 and they’ve all been by — at least — 17 points. The Liberty won a recent matchup in May this year, but Connecticut -10.5 feels like a good value here.
That’s all, folks! Here’s to your favorite team doing some good tomorrow in the draft.
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Looking at the best bets for Friday’s three-game WNBA slate.
Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 6-9
Friday is a great day for WNBA basketball. The NBA season is over and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup is scheduled for the weekend. With that, the W’s three-game slate will be center stage. Connecticut and Seattle will lead things off before Dallas and Phoenix will duel in the Big D. Chicago and Atlanta close out the night.
Here’s a look at the matchups, odds, and storylines.
Looking at the best bets for Friday’s four WNBA games.
Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 4-6
It’s Friday night and the W is sending us into the weekend with a quartet of games. From Connecticut playing on the second night of a back-to-back to Dallas and Seattle trying to live up to the hype of last season’s consecutive game-winners, each matchup should present a competitive and entertaining 40 minutes of basketball up and down the board.
Here’s a look at the matchups, odds, and storylines.
Welcome to Bet For The Win’s weekly WNBA column, where we cover everything women’s basketball from highlight plays and signature moments to bad beats and best bets. Be sure to check back here every week for your W fix.
The second full week of WNBA games came and went and we have a lot to talk about. We’re seeing two very unlikely Aces suddenly rain threes out West, we’re watching Connecticut’s defense become absurdly dominant in the Northeast and a few “late to the league rookies” are making notable contributions to the W after finishing stints in other leagues overseas.
Breaking down Friday’s WNBA matchups and choosing which teams to bet on.
Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the first Friday slate of the 2022 season.
Season picks (record): 3-4
It’s Friday night in the W and there’s a fun three-game slate on deck to take us into the weekend.
The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun kick things off with a battle at Mohegan Sun Arena. Then, the extremely hot Atlanta Dream looks to log a home win against the equally-as-hot Washington Mystics. Finally, the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm close out the slate with some action in the Pacific Northwest.
Here’s a look at Friday’s matchups, odds, and storylines.
