Chicago Sky vs. Atlanta Dream Preview, Prediction and Odds - 8/24/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams on opposite sides of the playoff cut line are on the floor in WNBA action down in Hotlanta. The Chicago Sky are on the road as they make the trip to face the Atlanta Dream Tuesday night. Chicago was knocked off 101-95 at home by Minnesota in their last contest Saturday night. Atlanta was knocked off 84-69 at home by Phoenix Saturday night in their most recent contest. The Sky have won five of the last seven meetings between the teams, though they’ve split a pair of meetings this season. In the first meeting this season, Chicago claimed an 85-79 win on May 19 before Atlanta won 90-83 on the road in the most recent matchup May 25. The road team has won the last six meetings in the series.
Chicago Sky Hoping to Bounce Back
Chicago came up on the wrong side of a track meet with Minnesota at home for their fourth loss in five games. The Sky enter this game 11-12 on the year and stand sixth in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games clear of the ninth-place Wings to remain on the right side of the cut line. Against Minnesota, Chicago led by six two minutes into the game only to trail by seven after the opening quarter. The Sky trailed by four at the half and held a one-point edge with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. Chicago gave up a 10-3 run to end the third quarter down six and couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way. The Sky shot 47.9% from the field, including nine of 24 from three-point range, and allowed the Lynx to shoot 54% in the contest. Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot (eight assists) each had 27 points to lead Chicago in the loss.
The Sky is 5th in the league in scoring offense as they muster 82.7 points per contest this season. Chicago is sixth in rebounding (35.7 boards a night) and first in assists by dishing out 21.7 dimes a game. The Sky is average on defense as they are sixth in the league by allowing an average of 80.6 points a contest. Kahleah Copper is one of five players averaging in double figures for the team with 14.1 points plus 4.6 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (12.4 points, 8.6 boards), Astou Ndour-Fall (7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (11.5 points), Courtney Vandersloot (11.4 points, 9.2 assists), Allie Quigley (14.2 points), Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 7th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.8% as a team. The Sky are in the middle of the pack in threes per game as they are tied for 6th with seven per contest: they are 7th in three-point shooting at 33.8%. Chicago comes in first at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 86% at the stripe. Parker missed Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and is questionable here.
Atlanta Dream Looking to Stop Freefall
Atlanta lost their eighth straight game and their 15th in the last 17 games as they were knocked off by Phoenix at home Sunday. The Dream dropped to 6-16 on the season and stand 11th in the WNBA playoff picture, four games behind the Sparks for the final playoff spot. Atlanta trailed by three after the opening quarter, by as many as 10 in the first half and by five at intermission. The Dream rallied to lead by one with 1:04 to play in the third quarter but gave up a 21-4 run to leave them down 77-61 with 3:36 to play in the contest. Atlanta couldn’t make a run after that and wound up with the loss. The Dream shot 40.3% from the field, including five of 21 from beyond the arc, and were destroyed 47-24 on the glass. Odyssey Sims led Atlanta with 16 points in the loss.
The Dream is 6th in the league in scoring offense coming into this contest as they average 81.1 points a game this season. Atlanta is 11th in the league in rebounding (33.5 boards a night) and stands 10th in assists with an average of 17.9 per game. The Dream are 12th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 87.1 points a contest this season. Tiffany Hayes is one of four players for the Dream scoring in double figures as she puts up 16.2 points a night. Chennedy Carter contributes 14.2 points plus 3.3 assists per contest. Odyssey Sims, Crystal Bradford, Tianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Williams, Monique Billings, Courtney Williams (16.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists), Aari McDonald, Cheyenne Parker (10.2 points, 4.5 boards), Candice Dupree and Shekinna Strickland are other key rotation pieces for coach Darius Taylor. The Dream are 9th in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.7% from the floor as a team. Atlanta stands 10th in threes per game (6.5) and 11th in three-point percentage as they hit 31.9% of their long-range attempts. The Dream is 12th in the league in free throw percentage as they shoot 71.4% from the stripe as a team this year. Carter is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team during the game against the Aces July 4. Parker is out for the year as she announced she was pregnant last month.
Pick: Chicago Sky
While Chicago has dropped four of their last five games, the fact is that they are still somehow hotter than Atlanta. The Dream has completely gone off the rails and have dropped to 11th in the WNBA standings, ahead of only Indiana. Atlanta is only 3-8 at home on the year and have been outscored by 6.5 points per game in those contests. The Dream have two of their top four scorers out of the mix at this point and they are abysmal on the defensive end of the floor. That’s bad news against a Chicago team that piled up 95 points against Dallas Saturday night. Seeing how the road team has won the last six meetings and the way Atlanta has fallen apart, you have to back Chicago here.
Total: Over
Chicago has seen the over hit in five of their last six contests entering this one, including three of their four contests since the Olympic break. That includes a 196-point total that blew 34.5 points past the number in Saturday’s game with the Wings. The Sky have seen the over post a 13-10 mark on the season in their games. Atlanta has seen the over split in their last 10 games with their last two coming in under the mark. The over is 13-10 in the Dream’s 23 contests this year. The over has hit in four of the last six meetings between the teams and with the way Atlanta is giving up points by the truckload, this one follows suit.