And as headline-grabbing, as those above topics are, there’s a chance that Thursday night could include bringing home the firstWNBA championship for the Las Vegas Aces.
The Aces are up 2-0 on the Sun as the Finals head back to Connecticut for Game 3. They’ll have a shot on Thursday night to close the series out in three games, which is exactly what bettors are expecting to happen.
At Tipico Sportsbook, 83 percent of tickets are moneyline bets with the Aces winning outright, and 100 percent of the tickets have Vegas covering the spread (+1.5).
Apparently, there’s little-to-no faith from the public when it comes to the home favorites (-1.5). The Sun had the second-best home record in the league during the regular season and will need to be as good if they want to extend their season.
Game 1 of the WNBA Finals went just about how the Connecticut Sun imagined in their wildest dreams. It was an extremely physical, low-scoring basketball game tailor-made for their style of play.
Yet, the Aces came away with the victory despite the flow of the game. As Connecticut tries to even up the series, it’ll need to follow a similar script. Only, this time, it would be great for Curt Miller if his players made a few more shots.
Vegas (-4.5) could also use some better luck with shotmaking. It was mainly just A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and a little bit of Jackie Young doing the job in Game 2.
Who could possibly step up on Tuesday night and provide a needed scoring boost for either squad? We turn to the player props.
Can the regular-season MVP turn into a Finals MVP?
In 2021, the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun were the two best teams in the WNBA throughout the regular season — very clearly, the two best. They both dominated opponents en route to No. 1 and 2 seeds for the postseason, earning double-byes and seeming destined to meet in the Finals.
But the Chicago Sky upset the Sun in the semis right before the Phoenix Mercury did the same to the Aces, leaving the two clubs limping into the offseason.
A year later, the Aces and Sun have redeemed themselves. Both exercised some demons (the Sky and Mercury) along the path to reaching the 2022 WNBA Finals.
With the two most recent league MVPs, Jonquel Jones (2021) and A’ja Wilson (2022) set to clash, can either of them parlay their success into a Finals MVP award while leading their franchise to its first-ever WNBA Championship? Or will someone else emerge?
We take a look at the top candidates for the award and why they’re worth betting on.
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What’s good, family? It’s Sykes, once again, here with another edition of Layup Lines. A quick word on the potential of a midseason tournament for the NBA.
There seems to be a legitimate possibility that the NBA finally adds a much-discussed midseason tournament to its regular season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The NBA and NBA Player’s Association are still in discussions for the meat and potatoes of it, but the framework seems to have been decided. Here are the details:
The tournament games will play through November with all 30 teams participating.
8 Teams will make a single-elimination final in December while the other 22 teams continue their regular schedule.
All games included will be part of the regular 82-game schedule with one extra game for the two finalist teams at the end.
If all goes well, this would reportedly start as soon as the 2023-24 NBA season. Essentially, we’re one season away from a midseason tournament.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. This is a little too weird, right? What’s the point? Nobody asked for a midseason tournament — just for the regular season to be shorter.
I totally get all that. But hear me out — this isn’t a bad idea!
The thing about regular season games is that they haven’t felt like they’ve actually mattered as much for years. The season is too long and there are too many games that feel like they come with no stakes.
This tournament adds stakes. It gives us drama. The players will have some incentive to play in this thing and there are a ton of possibilities as far as what that incentive could be.
Maybe it’s a locked in playoff spot or maybe it’s an extra $10 million in cash for the winning team to distribute. There will be some opportnuity of value attached to this and that’ll make it interesting.
If you’re skeptical, look no further than the WNBA. Last season the league institutded the Commissioner’s Cup as their midseason tournament and the results have been fantastic. The games are competitive, fun and the winning team gets a bonus check in the end which is great for their pockets.
“At the beginning of the season, nobody really knew exactly what was on the line,” Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner said on Monday after her team’s practice. “Leading up to it, many players didn’t know what it was and what games counted.”
That’s changed though. The perception is different just two seasons in. It’s fun! Players enjoy it. The Las Vegas Aces won the cup this year and had a blast with it.
This is the sort of fun and excitement the NBA’s regular season needs. And fans should be here for it. It’s good to see the NBA learning a thing or two from the W here. Let’s hope it continues to push the league forward.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
(Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
But what was most interesting to me was the advice he gave to his son, Shareef O’Neal, as he begins his NBA journey. It just seemed to sweet.
“Man, it was good. I set high standards like what my father set for me. He’s working hard. Of course, being an O’Neal kid, everyone thinks his journey is going to be like mine. But I tell my kids all the time: “I’m an Amazonian that walks through the jungle. I’m crazy. Your path will never be like my path. You’ll have to choose your own path. However you’ll make it, you’ll make it.” He decided to go early. He had a good summer league and he will be in the G League. He still has a chance to fulfill his dream.”
Aces (-5.5, -250) vs. Sun (-+5.5, +200) O/U 169.5, Sept 10 @ 12 Noon ET
Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
The stakes are incredible in these WNBA Finals. Both these teams are seeking redemption after failures on the biggest stage from 2019 and 2020. A’ja Wilson is trying stack that trophy case even more but the Sun really seemed to catch their stride defensively against the Sky. This is going to be tough, but I’m taking a fired up Aces team -5.5 in Game 1.
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On Thursday night, we’ll learn which lucky team will earn a chance to face the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals.
Will it be the defending champion Chicago Sky, who will have the advantage of utilizing a raucous home crowd behind them? Or can the Connecticut Sun, fresh off of a dominant 24-point Game 4 win, ride momentum into Game 5 and make it back to the Finals for the first time since 2019?
We won’t know the outcome for another few hours, so we’ll play a guessing game until then.
How about we make bets on and predict which players will help decide the final outcome? Here’s a look at some player props.
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.
