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What’s Up in the WNBA: Title Rematch on Tap

Reigning Champion Las Vegas Remains Undefeated

It was quite the entertaining weekend of action in the WNBA. Road teams won six of the nine games played this weekend and that is making things challenging when it comes to making WNBA predictions.

The Las Vegas Aces, fresh off winning the WNBA title, is the only undefeated team with Seattle the last winless squad

What’s Up in the WNBA: Title Rematch on Tap
Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty - Ethan Miller/Getty Images/afp

When looking at the WNBA news, each of the games played this weekend have been decided by seven points or less and that was highlighted by game-winning baskets by Minnesota’s Tiffany Mitchell and New York’s Breanna Stewart.

There are two games this week featuring the Aces and the Connecticut Sun, the teams with the best records in the WNBA. They meet for the first time since Las Vegas topped Connecticut to win the WNBA title.

When looking at the WNBA picks, the Aces (+110) and Liberty (+140) have the best odds to win the WNBA title while the Aces’ A’ja Wilson and New York’s Stewart lead the way in the odds for the WNBA Most Valuable Player.

Aces, Storm Stand Alone

Heading into this week’s games, the Las Vegas Aces are the remaining undefeated team after rallying from 12 points down to top the Indiana Fever the last time out.

Las Vegas has failed to cover in its last two games after winning its first four games by an average of 24.8 points.

Perhaps the only concern for the Aces is a lack of depth, with only seven players averaging more than 10 minutes per game. With A’ja Wilson contributing 27 points (on 55% shooting) with 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks to go with the elite guard play, seven players might be enough for the Aces.

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 5, 2023

On the other end of the spectrum are the Seattle Storm with an 0-4 record. Seattle is the only team still looking for its first win.

Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor combine for nearly 41 points per game. It has been a struggle to get points from the rest of the Storm at times. The other three starters have a combined total of 17 points in Saturday’s loss to Los Angeles.

Rookie guard Jade Melbourne did contribute 10 points off the bench after finishing with six points in her first two WNBA games.

Tough Start for Rookie Class

No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston has been as good as advertised so far this season. However, the other rookies have struggled to make an impact.

DiamondMiller, the No. 2 pick, is the only other rookie averaging more than 10 points per game and she is out for an undetermined amount of time due to an ankle injury.

Zia Cooke of the Los Angeles Sparks is next on the scoring charts. Among the next five highest-scoring rookies, only Morgan Bertsch of the Chicago Sky was drafted in 2023.

Jade Melbourne of the Seattle Storm, Nyara Sabally of the New York Liberty and Sika Kone of the Chicago Sky were drafted in 2022.

No. 3 overall pick Maddy Siegrist has 12 points in her first six games while sixth overall selection Haley Jones has 19 points in the five games she has played in for the Atlanta Dream.

Player of the Week

  • Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm: Seattle is still searching for its first win of the 2023 season despite some impressive performances from Loyd.

Loyd hit eight 3-pointers and had a season-high 37 points as Seattle was tied with host Los Angeles at halftime before falling by seven points in the Storm’s road opener.

Loyd averaged 31.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Seattle’s two games during the week. Loyd was 10 of 19 from 3-point range as she pushed her scoring average to a WNBA-leading 28.8 points per game on 44.4% shooting from 3-point range.

Rookie of the Week

  • Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever: Boston had her best scoring game of the season with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Tuesday’s loss to Connecticut, with eight of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

It was more of a struggle against the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces as she finished with seven points and four rebounds in 22 minutes in a four-point loss. It marked the first time she failed to score at least 10 points in her rookie season.

Boston, the No. 1 pick out of South Carolina, leads all rookies in scoring (14.0 points) and rebounding (5.6). She is listed by the WNBA betting lines as the favorite in the WNBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Games of the Week

Las Vegas Aces vs Connecticut Sun

Tuesday, June 6, 7 p.m. ET and Thursday, June 8, 7 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

This was an easy choice as the teams with the two best records in the WNBA square off twice in three days in a rematch of the 2022 WNBA championship series.

The Aces came into the season listed by the sportsbook as the favorite in the WNBA championships odds. Las Vegas began the season with impressive showings both at home and on the road. The last two games have been a bit of a grind with the Aces winning tough road games against Atlanta and Indiana.

Connecticut looks much different without Jonquel Jones, Jasmine Thomas and Courtney Williams. The Sun have won three straight games with all five starters averaging more than 10 points per game.

Alyssa Thomas is a triple-double threat each time she hits the court as she leads the WNBA with 11.6 rebounds per game and is third with 6.9 assists for the Sun. The Aces are one of two teams with two players averaging more than 20 points per game. Jackie Young is putting up 21.8 points per game while shooting 60% from the field and Wilson is contributing 20.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Injury Update

The Dallas Wings continue to play without rookie Lou Lopez Senechal and key offseason acquisition Diamond DeShields due to knee injuries. Center Teaira McCowan is also out while guard Crystal Dangerfield was helped off the court after suffering a leg injury on Sunday.

Diamond Miller, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, is sidelined with an ankle injury that is expected to keep her out of action for a while for the Minnesota Lynx.

Chicago was able to hand the New York Liberty its second loss of the season even though guards Dana Evans and Rebekah Gardner and forwards Morgan Bertsch and Isabelle Harrison missed the game.

Keep an eye on the practice reports before considering WNBA live betting odds when the Sky returns to the court.

There is some good news as Washington forward Myisha Hines-Allen made her season debut in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.

Nationally Televised Games

  • Indiana Fever at Chicago Sky, Tuesday, June 6, 8 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network): Don’t be fooled by Indiana’s 1-4 record, other than a first-quarter meltdown against New York the Fever have been in every game this season.
  • Los Angeles Sparks at Seattle Storm, Tuesday, June 6, 10 p.m. (CBS Sports Network): The Western Conference rivals meet for the second time in four days. The teams combined for 20 3-pointers in Saturday’s game.
  • Dallas Wings at New York Liberty, Sunday, June 11, 1 p.m. ET (ABC): The injuries are piling up for Dallas and that is not good news heading to face the talented Liberty squad.
  • Washington Mystics at Seattle Storm, Sunday, June 11, 3 p.m. ET (ABC): Washington was on the wrong side of the scoreboard when Minnesota picked up its first win of the season and would prefer not to be in the same situation against the Storm.

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