Seattle Storm vs. Indiana Fever Prediction, Preview and Odds - 6/15/21
It’s an interconference matchup on the WNBA hardwood in the Hoosier State. The Seattle Storm are on the road as they make the trip to face the Indiana Fever Tuesday night in the first game of a two-game series. Seattle comes in off an 89-66 demolition of Connecticut on the road in a battle of conference leaders Sunday afternoon. Indiana was edged 83-79 at home by Chicago as they were swept in a home-and-home set Sunday afternoon. In the first meeting this season, it was the Storm rolling to an 88-73 win at home on June 1. That gave Seattle seven victories in the last 10 meetings entering this one, including each of the last two.
Seattle Storm Looking to Extend Success
Seattle won their third straight and ninth in the last 10 games as they took advantage of a Sun team missing Jonquel Jones to roll to a victory. The Storm improved to 10-2 on the season and own a 1.5-game lead over the Sun and Aces for the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture. Seattle’s lone deficit in the game came at 2-0 as they reeled off the next eight points and didn’t let Connecticut get even after that. The Storm led by nine after the opening quarter, by 14 at the half and led by as many as 26 en route to the victory. Seattle shot 48.6% from the field, including 10 of 22 from three-point range, and forced 17 Connecticut turnovers in the victory. Breanna Stewart led the Storm with 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 89.1 points per game. Seattle is fifth in rebounding (36.3 boards per contest) and is first in the league in assists by dishing out 22.9 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 6th in scoring defense as they allow 80.7 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 21.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (19.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists) and Sue Bird (10.8 points, 6.1 assists) are solid secondary options. Coach Noelle Quinn has a solid group to work with as her team can get production from Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordin Canada, Candice Dupree, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Epiphanny Prince and Kiana Williams. The Storm are second in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 46.3% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is second in the league in three-point field goals made per game (9.7) and first in three-point percentage as they knock down 40.8% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are average at the line, ranking seventh in the league by converting 81.3% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant.
Indiana Fever Buried in WNBA Basement
Indiana suffered their seventh straight loss as they were swept in a home-and-home set with Chicago by virtue of Sunday’s loss. The Fever dropped to 1-11 on the season and sat last in the WNBA standings, 4.5 games behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. Indiana trailed by two after the opening quarter, by seven at the half and by nine early in the third quarter before cutting the deficit to one after three quarters. The fourth quarter was back and forth, with the score tied at 77 with 1:58 to play, but the Fever were outscored 6-2 the rest of the way to wind up with the tough loss. Indiana shot 48.4% from the field, including four of 11 from three-point range, but missed seven of their 22 free throws in addition to turning the ball over 17 times. Teaira McCowan led the Fever with 20 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 11th in the league in scoring offense with 75.2 points per game. Indiana is seventh in the league in rebounding (35.3 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 17.7 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 89.3 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 15.1 points a night. Teaira McCowan (11.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (8.3 points, 3.3 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (10.8 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 9th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41% as a team on the year. The Fever are 11th in threes per game (4.8) while standing 12th by hitting 27.8% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is eighth in free throw shooting as they sink 79.1% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar missed the last nine games with an ankle injury and is questionable here.
Pick: Seattle Storm -12.5
We’re looking at a mismatch on paper here. Seattle has won 10 of their 12 games on the season while Indiana has lost 11 of their 12. The Storm beat the Fever by 15 two weeks ago at home in a game that was pretty much decided early on. Seattle is second in the league in scoring offense, second in field goal percentage and first in three-point shooting while Indiana is dead last in all three categories on the defensive end of the floor. The Fever does have home-court advantage here but the fact remains that they don’t have the weapons to keep up with the Storm’s trio of stars. Seattle wins this one convincingly to run their win streak to four.
Total: Over 163.5
We know that Seattle can pile up the points, seeing that they have put up at least 80 points in 10 of their 11 games this season. That included an 88-point showing in the first meeting with the Fever this season. The Storm have cracked the 90-point plateau six times already this season and have hit the century mark twice. Seattle has seen the over hit in six of their 12 games on the year. Indiana, for all their issues offensively, have gone over the mark in seven of their 12 games on the year, mainly due to being last in scoring defense. The first meeting this season fell short of a high 170-point total. With this one being a bit lower, look for Seattle to help push this one over the mark.