Connecticut Sun vs. Chicago Sky Prediction and Odds - 6/17/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams take the floor in WNBA action in the Windy City. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they travel to face the Chicago Sky Thursday night in the first game of a two-game series. Connecticut was clobbered 89-66 at home by Seattle in their previous contest Sunday afternoon. Chicago earned a victory as they ran to a 105-89 victory over Minnesota on the road in their previous contest Tuesday night. Last season, the Sun took two of the three meetings in the bubble, including a 94-81 win as the “road” team in the most recent meeting, which was a first-round playoff matchup on September 15, 2020.
Connecticut Sun Hoping to Regroup
Connecticut played their first game without Jonquel Jones Sunday and it ended in a one-sided defeat at the hands of the defending champion Storm at home. The Sun dropped to 8-3 on the season and entered Wednesday third in the WNBA playoff picture, two games behind Seattle for the top spot and a half-game behind second-place Las Vegas. Connecticut’s lone lead in the game was at 2-0 as they then gave up eight unanswered. The Sun never got closer than one after that: they trailed by nine after the opening quarter, by 14 at the half and by as many as 26 in the second half en route to the defeat. Connecticut shot 45% from the field, including six of 15 from three-point range, and committed 17 turnovers. Kaila Charles and DeWanna Bonner each had 14 points to lead the Sun in a losing effort.
The Sun is ninth in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 80 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is third in the league in rebounding (36.9 boards a night) while they stand seventh by dishing out 18.5 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 74 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 16.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (9.4 points) and Brionna Jones (12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.8% as a team. The Sun are tied for fifth in three-pointers per game (eight) and third in three-point percentage (37.6%) on the year. Connecticut has sputtered at the charity stripe as they convert on 78.3% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles. Jones is out for most of June as she is representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in EuroBasket. Coach Curt Miller left the team Tuesday to deal with a family medical emergency: Brandi Poole was named acting head coach in his absence.
Chicago Sky Looking for Fourth Straight Win
Chicago reeled off a third straight victory as they ran to their highest point total of the season in a road win over the Lynx Tuesday night. The Sky improved to 5-7 on the year and entered Wednesday ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Sparks for the final playoff spot. Chicago blitzed their way to a 39-23 lead after one quarter and closed the first half on an 11-4 run after the Lynx cut the lead to two. In the second half, the Sky kept knocking down shots, leading by as many as 27 en route to the win. Chicago shot a blistering 57.1% from the field, including 12 of 26 from three-point range, and forced 20 Minnesota turnovers. Allie Quigley poured in 23 points to lead six players in double figures in the win for Chicago. Courtney Vandersloot (10 points, 13 assists, four steals) became the fourth player in WNBA history to reach the 2,000 assist plateau, joining Sue Bird, Ticha Penicheiro and Lindsay Whalen.
The Sky is 8th in the league in scoring offense as they muster 80.3 points per contest this season. Chicago is second in rebounding (37.1 boards a night) and fifth in assists by dishing out 19.7 dimes a game. The Sky is good on defense as they are third in the league by allowing an average of 78 points a contest. Kahleah Copper is one of six players averaging in double figures for the team with 14.3 points plus 4.2 rebounds a night this season. Candace Parker (12.8 points, 8.5 boards), Astou Ndour-Fall (10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds) and Ruthy Hebard (9.1 points, 6.7 rebounds) are solid secondary options. The Sky can also look to Diamond DeShields (12.5 points), Courtney Vandersloot (11.6 points, 8.2 assists), Allie Quigley (12 points), Stefanie Dolson, Brittany Boyd-Jones, Azura Stevens, Natasha Mack and Stephanie Watts to contribute for coach James Wade. Chicago is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 40.9% as a team. The Sky are near the bottom of the pack in threes per game as they are 9th with 6.7 per contest: they are 5th in three-point shooting at 34.9%. Chicago comes in first at the free throw line this season as they are shooting 86.1% at the stripe. Ndour-Fall is out currently as she is playing for Spain in EuroBasket and likely won’t be back until late June.
Pick: Chicago Sky
If you were wondering how the Sun would fare without Jones, a leading MVP candidate, you got a sobering dose of reality in the blowout loss to Seattle. The Sun turned the ball over 17 times, allowed Seattle to score 89 points and shoot 48.6% in the contest. Connecticut never was in the game after the opening quarter as Seattle put the boots to them. Chicago is healthy and they’ve won three straight games, putting up some hefty point totals in that stretch. The Sky has a deep rotation of scoring threats that can do damage while the Sun is missing the league’s second-leading scorer. Playing at home with their new-found momentum, you have to back Chicago here.
Total: Under
Connecticut leads the league in scoring defense coming into Wednesday. We also saw that the Sun will have issues on both ends of the floor without Jones as that cropped up quickly in the game against Seattle. Chicago has won three straight and have piled up a combined 280 points in their three-game win streak. Connecticut has seen the under hit in eight of their 11 contests this season thanks to their defensive play. Meanwhile, the Sky have seen the over hit six times in their 12 games so far this year. With two of the top three scoring defenses in the league here, coupled with Jones missing for the Sun, this one ends up falling short of the total.