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.
The WNBA is an extremely competitive league, so it’s never really surprising when tempers are flaring. Especially when there’s so much talent around.
But when they’re flaring between two teammates? On the bench? That’s a bit more interesting. Especially when those two teammates are Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi.
In the midst of an 86-74 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, Diggins-Smith and Taurasi had to be separated by teammates on the bench after they had words for each other that didn’t seem too nice.
Diggins-Smith was visibly bothered by something on the bench. She got up and said something to Taurasi which prompted Taurasi to jump up off the bench in response.
Teammates got in between the two and settled things down before getting back to the action, but it was heated. Clearly.
Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi had to be separated after a heated exchange on the bench. pic.twitter.com/QGCghYuHAf
We don’t really know what was said or what the argument was about. But, clearly, it was a big enough deal for them to argue about it.
All in all, this is probably nothing. Just an argument between two teammates about a frustrating game in the midst of a frustrating season.
The Mercury are clearly playing below their standard at this point. They made the WNBA Finals last season and were projected to be one of the best teams in the league. Now, they sit at 2-2 with their two losses coming from the Las Vegas Aces by double-digits. That’s a team they’ll have to go through to get back to the Finals.
You add that frustration together plus everything going on with Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia, it’s just been a tumultuous season for the Mercury. To say the least.
They’re talented enough to right the ship and go on a run at some point. And this argument will probably amount to nothing. But for Mercury fans? None of this can be comfortable to see.
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This was a classic moment between Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
The Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi pairing is always golden. Such was the case when the two were teammates at UConn and for Team USA, when they teamed up on an ESPN Megacast for the 2022 Women’s Final Four and the 44 times they battled one another in the WNBA.
Saturday’s 45th game was no different. Both players competed hard throughout the game and found themselves tied up with one another late in the fourth quarter.
Taurasi had possession of the ball but Bird tied her up and the two struggled for possession until the refs blew the whistle.
Was it a foul? Was it a jump ball?
The two legends debated and the ABC broadcast picked up the dialogue.
Phoenix would gain possession of the tip but Bird perfectly defended Taurasi into a missed corner three.
Win, Sue Bird.
But Taurasi and the Mercury got the last laugh as Diana hit a big three moments later and then closed the game with two free throws to put it out of reach for a 69-64 victory.
Nonetheless, we got another classic Bird-Taurasi moment that’ll live forever.
Welcome Bet For the Win’s W Bets, a place where the WNBA’s slate of games are broken down, explained and bet on. Today, we run down the first Wednesday slate of the 2022 season.
This Wednesday, we have a star-studded three-game slate that should deliver plenty of entertaining basketball.
The Seattle Storm travel to Arizona to take on the Phoenix Mercury. The Chicago Sky will look for their first win of the season when they host the New York Liberty. Both the Los Angeles Sparks and Atlanta Dream will try to stay undefeated when they match up on Wednesday.
Here’s a look at the matchups, odds and storylines.
The 2022 WNBA season has tipped off, and there is plenty of Notre Dame representation. Not that this should come as any surprise given that they all played under Muffet McGraw. Hopefully one day, Niele Ivey will have just as many of her own former players competing at the pinnacle of professional women’s basketball. For now, McGraw’s legacy is far more apparent.
With nine former Irish players in the WNBA and a few of them even teammates, there’s a very good chance you’ll find one of them on a given night if you decide to flip on a random game this season. Maybe you happen to be a fan of a particular team that has Irish blood on it. In that case, congratulations for hitting the jackpot!
Don’t be so quick to write these athletes off just because it’s women’s basketball. It’s just as thrilling to watch them as it is male athletes, and you’re only hurting yourself if you refuse to watch solely based on gender. Now, with that out of the way, here are the former Irish players to look for:
Ranking the WNBA teams 1-12 ahead of Week 1 of the 2022 season.
Months have passed following the WNBA’s celebratory 25th season, one that saw the Chicago Sky win its first-ever championship 201 days ago. Headlines filled the eight-month intermission as notable players were traded, superstars switched teams, and coaches went to new organizations.
Alas, the dust has finally settled and the off-season is in the rearview. Now, each team has finalized its roster and is ready to roll into the 2022 season on an even playing field.
Where do things stand as the new season gets underway? We take a look at all 12 teams and rank them ahead of opening night with our first power rankings of 2022:
As one of the WNBA’s more prominent stars, the league and its players have understandably shown a lot of concern while missing Griner, the teammate, Griner the competitor, and Griner the friend.
To honor Griner in her ongoing absence, the league recently revealed that they would display a prominent “BG42” logo on all 12 teams’ courts. And as Griner’s current team, the Mercury had first dibs at revealing the process behind the graphic and the graphic itself.
Wow. What a gesture and a message of universal solidarity to stand with Griner.
It remains uncertain when Griner will be able to come home. But if it’s any tiny consolation, she can be reminded that she’s definitely in the thoughts of an entire league.
A championship for Chicago is a championship for all of Eugene.
That’s how it felt on Sunday afternoon when the Chicago Sky beat the Phoenix Mercury in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, securing their first championship in franchise history.
As a part of the team, Ruthy Hebard became the first former Oregon Duck from the historic 2017-2020 run to get a ring at the next level. The Sky drafted Hebard with the 8th overall pick in 2020.
Hebard had a limited role in the championship run, playing just three minutes per game, but her young career in the WNBA is off to a hot start with the ultimate goal achieved in just her second season. For the year, Hebard averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game.
The Sky was led by superstar Candice Parker, Allie Quigley, and Kahleah Cooper, who was eventually named Finals MVP after averaging 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Skylar Diggins-Smith is no stranger to getting to the biggest stages in basketball.
At Notre Dame she helped lead the Irish to three Final Four appearances and played in two NCAA Championship games and she’s played in helped Team USA win gold in the summer Olympics.
Diggins-Smith now stars for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA who are playing in the league finals. Trailing Chicago 1-0 in the series, the Mercury were in overtime in a game two they desperately needed to win. Leading by three late in overtime Diggins-Smith put the game on ice.
