CNOTES 2018 WNBA PICKS,TRENDS,NOTES,NEWS !

[Cnotes53]

WNBA

Wednesday, July 11

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Trend Report
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New York Liberty
New York is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
New York is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games
New York is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
New York is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Connecticut
New York is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing Connecticut
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 8 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
Connecticut is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games
Connecticut is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing New York
Connecticut is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Connecticut's last 7 games when playing New York
Connecticut is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against New York
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against New York
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Connecticut's last 8 games when playing at home against New York


Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
Atlanta is 5-11-1 ATS in its last 17 games on the road
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
Atlanta is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 11 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Atlanta is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta's last 10 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Washington's last 11 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against Atlanta


Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
Minnesota is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing Indiana
Minnesota is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana Fever
Indiana is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Indiana is 2-23 SU in its last 25 games
Indiana is 4-14 SU in its last 18 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indiana's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
Indiana is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, July 11


New York @ Connecticut

Game 321-322
July 11, 2018 @ 11:30 am

Dunkel Rating:
New York
97.681
Connecticut
113.712
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 16
160
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 7 1/2
166
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(-7 1/2); Under

Atlanta @ Washington

Game 323-324
July 11, 2018 @ 11:30 am

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
101.375
Washington
117.313
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 16
158
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 7 1/2
164
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-7 1/2); Under

Minnesota @ Indiana

Game 325-326
July 11, 2018 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
110.249
Indiana
104.732
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 5 1/2
153
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 12
158
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+12); Under

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA Basketball Trend Report

NEW YORK (5 - 14) at CONNECTICUT (10 - 9) - 7/11/2018, 11:30 AM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 3-10 ATS (-8.0 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 34-19 ATS (+13.1 Units) on Wednesday since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record after 15+ games after 15+ games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 105-75 ATS (+22.5 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more since 1997.
NEW YORK is 46-28 ATS (+15.2 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 5-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 5-3 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

ATLANTA (9 - 9) at WASHINGTON (12 - 7) - 7/11/2018, 11:30 AM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 6-15 ATS (-10.5 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 27-12 ATS (+13.8 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1997.
ATLANTA is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 322-379 ATS (-94.9 Units) in all games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 4-0 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 5-1 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

MINNESOTA (11 - 8) at INDIANA (2 - 17) - 7/11/2018, 12:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games this season.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
INDIANA is 2-8 ATS (-6.8 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 4-3 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 5-2 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

 

[Cnotes53]

Sun return home to face Liberty

The last time the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty saw each other, Shekinna Stricklen converted a rare 4-point play at the buzzer to give Connecticut an 88-86 road victory over New York.

It was the first buzzer-beating 4-point play in WNBA history and the NBA hasn't had one since Ray Allen did it in 2012.

The win was the sixth in the first seven games for the Sun, who have gone just 4-8 in 12 games since, capped by a 1-3 trip west. They return home for a Wednesday morning (11:30) game against the struggling Liberty at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Monday, the Sun (10-9) made a move they hope will bolster their season, shipping Alex Bentley to the Atlanta Dream for All-Star Layshia Clarendon and a second-round pick in next year's draft.

"We are excited about obtaining Layshia," general manager and coach Curt Miller said. "She's a talented and savvy guard with a great reputation as a leader on and off the court. She was thrilled when we spoke, and can't wait to arrive in Connecticut."

Clarendon, one of six WNBA players to record 200 assists in a season, came off the bench in 14 of her 18 games this season. Bentley also was coming off the Sun bench.

From the Hartford Courant Monday: "According to WNBAinsidr, Bentley and Sun guard Courtney Williams were in a 'physical altercation,' which is why Williams hasn't been with the team recently despite the Sun referring to her absence as being for 'personal reasons.' The incident allegedly occurred some time between June 27 and July 1."

While the Sun closed their road trip with a 94-90 loss at Las Vegas, the Liberty (5-14) fell by 10 at home to Dallas, their third straight loss and eighth in the last nine games.

Wednesday marks the latest return to Connecticut by former UConn star Tina Charles, the 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player with the Sun. She sought a trade to go home to New York in 2014, but things have not worked out as planned -- and this is another bad season for the Liberty.

New York has been eliminated in one playoff game each of the last two years, and it will take a turnaround to even make it to the postseason in 2018.

"I haven't been on a team where I have other Olympians," Charles told Deadspin recently. "I believe in every player that's on this team, so for me, I don't see it as a challenge. That's just what I've always known... I can't think about, 'what if I was on this team, or what if I had these (teammates).' I can't think about that in the midst of what I have right now, this is the moment I'm in."

 

[Cnotes53]

Dream ride into Mystics encounter with Bentley

WASHINGTON -- The Eastern Conference-leading Washington Mystics return from a West Coast trip to host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday morning at Capital One Arena.

The Mystics (12-7) defeated the Lost Angeles Sparks on Saturday 83-74 before dropping a 97-91 decision to the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

Washington led 56-48 in the third quarter at Seattle before the Storm went on a 27-10 run over the final seven minutes to lead 75-66 at the start of the fourth and held off a late Mystics rally.

"Yeah, once you get the first one you get greedy and want the second one," Mystics coach Mike Thibault said of the road swing. "We gave ourselves a chance at the start. We had a good start and when you play a back-to-back, you always wonder how you're going to start, but the third quarter was like an avalanche for about four or five minutes."

Elena Delle Donne scored 29 points against Seattle, Kristi Toliver added 18 and Ariel Atkins 17.

"We have to go home and get rested because we have a big week ahead of us," Thibault said after Sunday's game.

The Mystics face the third-place Dream (9-9) in a home-and-home twice this week sandwiched around a visit from the fourth-place Chicago Sky. Washington and Atlanta will be meeting for the first time this season.

Delle Donne was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. She averaged 20.3 points over three games, along with 5.7 rebounds. She shot 45.1 percent from the field to earn the 15th Player of the Week nod of her six-year career.

Atlanta is coming off a big win, 76-70 over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. The Dream scored the first nine points and led by as many as 23 points late in the third quarter before holding off a Phoenix surge.

Tiffany Hayes had 18 points, Renee Montgomery and Brittney Sykes added 13 points each, and Elizabeth Williams and Angel McCoughtry each scored 10 for Atlanta.

Wednesday's game marks the return of guard Alex Bentley to the Dream. Bentley was acquired Monday from the Connecticut Sun for Layshia Clarendon and a 2019 second-round WNBA Draft pick.

Bentley, who was drafted by Atlanta and played for the Dream in 2013, was averaging 10 points, 3.2 assists and 1.4 rebounds for the Sun. She has a career average of 11.0 points and has knocked down long distance shots at a 30.8 percent clip.

Dream coach Nicki Collen was an assistant with the Sun from 2015-17.

"Having had the opportunity to coach Alex Bentley in Connecticut for two seasons, I know she can be a dynamic scorer, but more importantly, she can create opportunities for her teammates because of her speed and skill with the basketball," Collen told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Washington won all three meetings last season.

 

[Cnotes53]

Lynx look for consistency against Fever

The Minnesota Lynx will be looking to avenge a rare loss to the Indiana Fever when the two teams square off in a Kids Day matinee contest on Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.

The Lynx had won seven games in a row until Indiana surprised them 71-59 on July 3 in Minneapolis, in the process keeping Minnesota under 60 points on its home floor for the first time since 2010.

In the week since that game, Minnesota beat Los Angeles in a rematch of last year's WNBA championship series and then fell on the road to Chicago 77-63.

Maya Moore led the Lynx (11-8) with 16 points in the loss to Chicago but needed 16 shots to reach that total. Seimone Augustus had 11 points while Sylvia Fowles, playing against her former team, had nine points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which shot 35.5 percent from the floor and was 5 of 18 on shots from beyond the arc.

It's been an inconsistent season for the Lynx, something they are not used to and definitely won't accept.

"When you don't pay attention to detail on both ends of the floor, you're very up and down," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Sometimes you set a good screen, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you take a good shot, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you play the schemes, sometimes you don't. That leads to very up and down."

Indiana, meanwhile, would love to have the 11 wins that the Lynx have. The Fever (2-17) have just two victories on the season, one each at home and on the road, and laid its biggest egg of the year just two days after pulling off the upset of Minnesota, losing 90-63 at Dallas.

The Wings outrebounded Indiana 47-22 in Thursday's game, and handed the Fever a 27-point defeat, the club's worst of the season.

"It is difficult to win a basketball game when the rebound margin is minus-25," said Fever coach Pokey Chatman.

Indiana got 42 of its 63 points from veterans Candice Dupree, Cappie Pondexter and Natalie Achonwa in the loss to Dallas, as that trio shot 16 of 31 from the floor while the rest of the Fever team combined for 8-of-37 shooting.

"Our defense wasn't there," Dupree said after the loss to the Wings. "They beat us on the boards, they turned us over and they scored a lot of points. They had an attack mentality."

Since the Fever played in Minneapolis on July 3, Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson passed former Fever great Tamika Catchings as the WNBA's all-time rebounding leader.

Minnesota leads the overall series between the two teams 23-14 and but for the loss last Tuesday at Target Center, has dominated regular-season meetings since 2012. The Lynx have won 14 of the past 16 regular-season games since July 15, 2011.

Kids Day has annually produced some of the Fever's best attendance figures, including last season's crowd of 12,282, the largest in club history. The Fever and Lynx share home-and-road Kids Day appearances on Wednesday in Indianapolis and July 18 in Minneapolis.

 

[Cnotes53]

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

NY at CONN 11:30 AM
NY +9.0
O 165.0

ATL at WAS 11:30 AM
WAS -8.0
O 161.5

MIN at IND 12:00 PM
IND +10.0
U 157.0

 

[Cnotes53]

Dream cruise past Mystics, 106-89
July 11, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) Angel McCoughtry scored 24 points and Jessica Breland added a season-high 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream beat the Washington Mystics 106-89 on Wednesday.

Renee Montgomery and Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points apiece, finishing a combined 9 of 13 from 3-point range for the Dream (10-9). Breland added a career-high seven assists and blocked three shots.

Natasha Cloud led the Mystics (12-8) with 17 points and Elena Delle Donne added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Breland and Hayes scored five points each during a 10-0 run that gave the Dream a 44-34 lead midway through the second quarter.

Atlanta, which made 11 of 18 3-pointers and shot 60 percent from the field, led 59-50 at halftime before a day game youth crowd of 11,354.

The Mystics pulled within seven points after Delle Donne's layup to open the fourth quarter, but McCoughtry scored six straight points for a 65-52 lead with eight minutes left.


***********************


Zellous hits 3 at buzzer, Liberty beat Sun
July 11, 2018

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Shavonte Zellous banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the New York Liberty past the Connecticut Sun 79-76 on Wednesday.

Tina Charles led New York with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Epiphanny Prince scored 15 and Zellous finished with 14.

Brittany Boyd found Prince for a 3-pointer in the corner to tie it at 76 with 24.3 seconds left. After Connecticut's Jasmine Thomas missed a 3, the Liberty (6-14) called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left. Zellous hit her only 3-point attempt in the game, finishing 6 of 7 from the field.

Chiney Ogwumike had 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting and nine rebounds, while Courtney Williams scored 16 points for the Sun (10-10). Alyssa Thomas, who returned from a 10-game absence because of a shoulder injury, added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Connecticut led by as many as 10 points before a day-game crowd of 7,413. Rachel Banham's 3-pointer gave the Sun a 74-69 lead with 2:50 left.

New York snapped a three-game skid, winning for just the second time in the last 10 games.


***************************


Robinson hits her 1st trey, Lynx top Fever
July 11, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Sylvia Fowles had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Maya Moore added 19 points to help the Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 87-65 on Wednesday.

Danielle Robinson made her first 3-pointer to end a 0-for-39 drought in her seven-year WNBA career. She finished with 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 2 from behind the arc.

Minnesota (12-8) led 10-2 and never trailed. Moore hit a jumper to push the lead to 15 points before Kelsey Mitchell made three 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that trimmed Indiana's deficit to 31-27 midway through the second quarter.

The Lynx scored 13 of the next 15 points.

Erica Wheeler led Indiana (2-18) with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mitchell finished with 11 points and Natalie Achonwa 10.

Minnesota shot 51.6 percent from the field despite going 4 of 16 from 3-point range. The Lynx made 17 of 19 free throws.

Indiana, which beat the Lynx 71-59 on July 3, has lost eight of its last nine games.

 

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JULY 12, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:30 PM Dallas Wings Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center


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WNBA MAY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

Totals............30 - 22 - 2...57.69%......+29.00

MAY'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS........................11 - 12.................-11.00.......................... ...18 - 8 - 1................+46.00

******************

WNBA JUNE RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

TOTALS................66 - 53....................55.46%.....................+ 49.50

JUNE'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS................40 - 23....................55.03%...................... +49.50

************************


WNBA JULY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS.

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

07/11/2018 3-3-0 50.00% -1.50
07/10/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/08/2018 1-4-1 20.00% -17.00
07/07/2018 2-4-0 33.33% -12.00
07/06/2018 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
07/05/2018 3-4-1 42.86% -7.00
07/03/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +8.50
07/01/2018 3-7-0 30.00% -23.50

TOTALS...........22-28.........44.00%.....-44.00


JULY'S BEST BETS:

07/11/2018.................1 - 2................-6.00........................2 - 1...............+4.50...............-1.50
07/10/2018.................3 - 0...............+15.00......................2- 1................+4.50.............+19.50
07/08/2018.................0 - 2...............-11.00.......................1 - 2................-6.00..............-17.00
07/07/2018.................1 - 2................-6.00........................1 - 2......,.........-6.00..............-12.00
07/06/2018.................0 - 1................-5.50........................1 - 0...............+5.00..............-0.50
07/05/2018.................2 - 1...............+4.50........................1 - 3...............-11.50.............-7.00
07/03/2018.................2 - 2................-1.00........................3 - 1...............+9.50..............+8.50
07/01/2018.................1 - 4................-17.00......................2 - 3................-6.50...............-23.50

TOTALS....................10 - 14..............-27.00....................13 - 13................-6.50..............-33.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday?s 6-pack

Six NFL teams who won 4+ more games than they did in 2016:

? Jacksonville Jaguars

? Los Angeles Chargers

? Los Angeles Rams

? Minnesota Vikings

? Philadelphia Eagles

? San Francisco 49ers

Quote of the Day
?We used to have this sports ticker and this roll of paper that would keep spitting out. And at that time, it made a bit of a racket, but if you were doing it long enough?it was a dot-matrix printer. If you did it long enough and you were sitting next to this thing for hours upon end like I was, a home run had a certain rhythm to it. You know somebody hit a home run, not even by looking at it, just by hearing how that thing was going??oh, that?s a home run, I better check that out.??
Mets radio engineer/producer Chris Majkowski

Thursday?s quiz
Who is the only person in NBA history to lead the league in 2-point FG% one year and 3-point %age in another year?

Wednesday?s quiz
Carlton Fisk (43) is the oldest player to get a hit in an All-Star Game.

Tuesday?s quiz
In the famous movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was from Kansas.

********************

Thursday?s List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud??.

13) You look at the benches in the NBA Summer League and you see two rows of coaches, maybe 8-9 coaches for each team. NBA teams spend lot of money on player development, which is more important now because players come into the league younger than ever before.

One of the first books I remember reading was The Open Man, Dave DeBusschere?s diary of the Knicks? 1969-70 title team. For a 12-year old kid who was falling in love with basketball, I went thru that book pretty quickly.

One thing that stands out now was that coach Red Holzman had NO ASSISTANT COACHES; Dick McGuire was his advance scout and trainer Danny Whalen kept track of timeouts and served as an assistant coach of sorts, but Holzman did all the actual coaching.

The game has changed drastically in that regard.

12) George Karl?s son Coby is on the Lakers? bench coaching during summer league; he is also the all-time leading scorer in Las Vegas Summer League history, with 337 points. Archie Goodwin is next, at 318 points.

11) Miami Marlins were 23-42 on June 10, but since then, they?re 15-14, hanging in there and hitting the ball well- they had 22 hits in a game in Washington Sunday. Don Mattingly has done a fine job keeping a talent-shy roster competitive in games.

10) Cincinnati Bengals may have seen one of the errors of their ways; they were 31st last year in $$$ spent on their offensive line, letting LT Andrew Whitworth bolt to the Rams.

Bengals are now 22nd in OL spending for this coming season; they hope it results in a QB who gets hit a lot less this season.

9) San Diego Padres lost their last 13 games against Clayton Kershaw, scoring a total of 12 runs off Kershaw in those 13 games.

8) An unnamed AL scout after watching the Kansas City Royals recently:

?I think someone will bite on Lucas Duda as a lefty bat off the bench. They won?t get enough for Duffy or Merrifield to move them. They?ll definitely move Moustakas and he will help someone. Won?t get the big return. Doesn?t happen anymore.?

7) Houston Astros? contract situation in the near future:
? Verlander, $28M a year thru 2019 (Detroit is paying $8M of that)
? McCann, $17M with an option after this year (NYY is paying $5.5M of that)
? Keuchel, $13.2M, free agent this season
? Reddick, $13M a year thru 2020 (yikes)
? Gurriel, $12.4M this year, $10.4M in ?19, $8.4M in ?20.
? Altuve, $9M this year and next, then a $29M/year deal kicks in
? Morton $7M, free agent after this season
? Cole $6.75M, arbitration this winter, then free agent after 2019.
? Carlos Correa isn?t a free agent until after 2021
? Alex Bregman isn?t a free agent until after 2022

Astros have some serious decisions to make about their starting pitchers this winter; their young position players are going to keep Houston strong for a long time.

6) When the Indians blew a 4-0 ninth inning lead in a 7-4 to the Reds Tuesday, it was in large part the manager?s fault. Terry Francona told pitching coach Carl Willis to get ?OP? up in the bullpen, he meant Oliver Perez, but Willis thought he said ?OT? meaning Dan Otero, so Willis told the bullpen coach to get Otero warmed up.

Few minutes later, Francona went to the mound, waved to the bullpen for a pitching change and was surprised to see Otero come to the mound instead of Perez. Whoops.

5) Baseball doings:
? Indians? OF Lonnie Chisenhall (calf) is out 8-10 weeks.

4) Injury-plagued Duke alum Harry Giles, who Sacramento drafted in 2017 despite having two ACL injuries before getting to the NBA, has played 23.3 mpg in his first three summer league games this month, scoring 12 ppg, grabbing 7.5 rpg.

3) There are 19 Kansas Jayhawk alums playing in Las Vegas this week.

2) There is guy named Chris Majkowski who is a radio engineer for Mets? games and he has worked 4,011 consecutive games, dating back to 1993- imagine not missing one day of work for 25 years? Majkowski threw out the first pitch before the Mets? game Wednesday.

1) Astros? closer Ken Giles blew a 9th-inning lead Tuesday, appeared to curse out manager AJ Hinch when he was removed from the game, then was sent to AAA today. Alrighty then.

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, July 12


Dallas @ Los Angeles

Game 601-602
July 12, 2018 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
110.007
Los Angeles
119.491
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 9 1/2
154
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 7
164 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-7); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, July 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DALLAS (11 - 8) at LOS ANGELES (13 - 8) - 7/12/2018, 3:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games in July games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 37-25 ATS (+9.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 31-20 ATS (+9.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 13-6 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games this season.
DALLAS is 13-6 ATS (+6.4 Units) in May, June, or July games this season.
DALLAS is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 6-3 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 6-3 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




WNBA

Thursday, July 12

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Dallas Wings
Dallas is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Dallas's last 10 games
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Los Angeles
Dallas is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Dallas's last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
Dallas is 12-4-2 ATS in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Dallas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
Los Angeles is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
Los Angeles is 15-5-1 ATS in its last 21 games at home
Los Angeles is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Los Angeles's last 13 games at home
Los Angeles is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Los Angeles is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Los Angeles's last 10 games when playing Dallas
Los Angeles is 4-12-2 ATS in its last 18 games when playing at home against Dallas
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas

 

[Cnotes53]

Wings try to catch Sparks in standings

Dallas and Los Angeles will meet for the third and final time during the regular season when the Wings visit the Sparks on Thursday at Staples Center.

The Wings soundly defeated the Sparks 101-72 on June 22 in Dallas in the first meeting. Four days later, the Sparks avenged that loss with an 87-83 win at home.

Los Angeles is coming off a 77-75 overtime win on Tuesday against the league's first-place team, Seattle. The road win snapped an uncharacteristic losing streak, which had reached four games.

Dallas also won last time out. The Wings are the hottest team in the league, having won four straight, including a 29-point win over Phoenix, which is one game behind Seattle.

Despite the winning streak, the Wings (11-8) remain one game behind the Sparks (13-8) in the standings.

"We've played a lot of games," said Dallas coach Fred Williams in explaining why the Wings are playing better. "We are all starting to get to know each other a little more."

Williams, like almost every other WNBA coach, points to defense as the key to success.

"The only thing that we are expressing more is defense," he said. "How we play the ball off screens. Once that locks in, that makes you a better percentage on the win side."

The Wings have to only look across the floor at Thursday's opponents to see how good defense translates into wins. The Sparks rode their lock-down, tenacious defense to victory against the Storm as Seattle scored only six points in the fourth quarter.

"In years past, we've played great defense, but given up offensive boards," Candace Parker said after Tuesday's win. "We just try to make a concerted effort of giving them one shot and depend on our half-court defense."

For the season, Los Angeles is allowing a league-low 76.7 points per game and held Seattle to under 21 points its regulation average.

But the Wings did crack the century mark against the Sparks earlier in the season, so the Sparks know the key will be stopping the one-two punch of Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Cambage is averaging 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds. Diggins-Smith contributes 19.3 points and 6.2 assists per game.

In the Wings' win over the Sparks, Cambage scored 20 points. While Diggins-Smith was held to six points, Aerial Powers, Allisha Gray and Azura Stevens stepped up to fill the void and scored 16, 15 and 13 points, respectively.

To keep the win streak going, Dallas will have to make a similar effort -- on both sides of the ball.

"Just stay focused on what we're doing on defense," Stevens said. "We're staying disciplined on offense but I really think it's our defense that has helped us a lot. ... We know we are going to score so that's all we have to do."

Yep, all the Wings have to do is stop Parker to have a good shot at winning their fifth in a row.

Much easier said than done. In the Sparks' win against the Wings, Parker scored 29 points and Chelsea Gray added 27. Nneka Ogwumike missed that game but should be in the lineup Thursday.

Los Angeles forced 17 turnovers and held the Wings to under 40 percent from the field in the victory.

Head coach Brian Agler believes the Sparks' win over the Storm might be the springboard Los Angeles has needed to be more consistent this season.

"It could be," he said. "There are a lot of teams playing well right now. There are some teams that if you look at the standings and think they're not going to make the playoffs, but are playing pretty well. It's going to be interesting how it plays out."

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, JULY 12
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

DAL at LA 03:30 PM

DAL +6.5

O 163.0

 

[Cnotes53]

Wings pull away for 5th straight win, 92-77 over Sparks
July 12, 2018

LOS ANGELES (AP) Skylar Diggins-Smith had 22 points and 11 assists, helping the Dallas Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 92-77 on Thursday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

Dallas (12-8) had its lead cut to 71-70 after the Sparks' Riquna Williams hit a 3-pointer with 7:52 to go. The Wings then went on a 21-2 run before the Sparks (13-9) scored the final five points of the game.

Azura Stevens had 16 points for Dallas, and Cayla George and Liz Cambage each scored 12.

Dallas took the season series with the win. The Wings won 101-72 in Dallas on June 22, and the Sparks won 87-83 in Los Angeles four days later.

Candace Parker had 21 points, Williams scored 16 and Nneka Ogwumike added 12 for the Sparks.

Los Angeles has lost six of its last eight.

 

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JULY 13, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Chicago Sky Washington Mystics Capital One Arena
7:00 PM Indiana Fever Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
7:00 PM Phoenix Mercury Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:00 PM Las Vegas Aces Minnesota Lynx Target Center


**********************


WNBA MAY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

Totals............30 - 22 - 2...57.69%......+29.00

MAY'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS........................11 - 12.................-11.00.......................... ...18 - 8 - 1................+46.00

******************

WNBA JUNE RECORD: OVERALL PICKS

TOTALS................66 - 53....................55.46%.....................+ 49.50

JUNE'S BEST BETS:

TOTALS................40 - 23....................55.03%...................... +49.50

************************


WNBA JULY RECORD: OVERALL PICKS.

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

07/12/2018 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
07/10/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.00
07/08/2018 1-4-1 20.00% -17.00
07/07/2018 2-4-0 33.33% -12.00
07/06/2018 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
07/05/2018 3-4-1 42.86% -7.00
07/03/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +8.50
07/01/2018 3-7-0 30.00% -23.50

TOTALS...........21-25.........45.62%.....-32.50


JULY'S BEST BETS:

07/12/2018.................1 - 0...............+5.00.......................1- 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
07/10/2018.................3 - 0...............+15.00......................2- 1................+4.50.............+19.50
07/08/2018.................0 - 2...............-11.00.......................1 - 2................-6.00..............-17.00
07/07/2018.................1 - 2................-6.00........................1 - 2......,.........-6.00..............-12.00
07/06/2018.................0 - 1................-5.50........................1 - 0...............+5.00..............-0.50
07/05/2018.................2 - 1...............+4.50........................1 - 3...............-11.50.............-7.00
07/03/2018.................2 - 2................-1.00........................3 - 1...............+9.50..............+8.50
07/01/2018.................1 - 4................-17.00......................2 - 3................-6.50...............-23.50

TOTALS.......................10 - 12..............-16.00....................12 - 12..............-6.00..............-22.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

? Seattle ace James Paxton (back) left Thursday?s game in the first inning.

? Boston 6, Toronto 4? Red Sox won their 10th game in a row.

? G Isaiah Thomas signed a veteran?s minimum deal with the Denver Nuggets.

? Wayne Ellington agreed to a one-year, $6.2M deal to return to the Miami Heat.

? Phil Hellmuth won a record 15th World Series of Poker gold bracelet, taking the $5,000 No-Limit Hold? em event.

? There was an argument on Twitter today about whether coleslaw is tasty or not; it was more fun than people arguing about politics.


**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!!!

13) Oakland A?s are 19-5 in their last 24 games, going 5-2 on this Cleveland/Houston road trip that just ended- they?re a contender for the Wild Card right now. A?s next six games are a pair of three-game series with their cross-bay rivals, the Giants. Interesting times.

12) Former NBA star Charles Oakley was arrested Sunday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board Enforcement Agents at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

TMZ reported that he is suspected of pulling back a $100 chip after he realized he was going to lose his wager; that is a Class B felony. Not good.

11) Milwaukee?s Jesus Aguilar, Seattle?s Juan Segura won the Final Vote and will be in Washington for next week?s All-Star Game.

Milwaukee is the smallest market in the major leagues; good for their fans for voting one of their guys into the Mid-Summer Classic.

10) Will Yoenis Cespedes return to the Mets as a first baseman? There are reports on the Interweb that Cespedes has suggested the position change to Mets brass.

Cespedes hasn?t played since May 13, by the way. People have come back from broken legs faster than this guy, and I?m not a Met fan nor is he on my fantasy team.

9) Mets have had nine games this season that were 0-0 after five innings; five of the nine were Jacob deGrom starts.

8) There are rumors the Manny Machado trade may be delayed util after the All-Star Game because Orioles? brass doesn?t want Machado playing in the All-Star Game in Washington next week wearing another team?s uniform, which would also leave the Orioles without an All-Star.

7) Baseball oddity: Babe Ruth started his career as a pitcher for the Red Sox; the night he got his first win as a pitcher, he was actually pinch-hit for in the 7th inning.

Wonder how many times he was pinch-hit for in his entire career?

6) Arizona OF Daniel Descalso pitched in the 4th inning Wednesday night in Denver, the earliest any position player has pitched in a game since the Brewers? Sal Bando on August 29, 1979 (also the 4th inning).

Descalso allowed a HR to Rockies pitcher German Marquez. It?s just the 2nd time in the last 50 years that a pitcher homered off a position player.

The other: June 23, 1986 ? Giants? Mike LaCoss homered off San Diego?s Dane Iorg.

5) Alex Bregman is only American Leaguer in Home Run Derby Monday night; unusual. MLB cannot be very happy that Trout, Judge, Stanton, Goldschmidt are not participating.

4) There?s a sportsbook opening Saturday at Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, next to Giants Stadium. Maybe the jackass politicians in New York can figure out a way to have legalized wagering in our state- why was New Jersey so far ahead of them????

3) Baseball doings:
? Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers goes on DL with left shoulder inflammation.
? Angels? P Garrett Richards (elbow) hopes to return in 2020.
? Twins put 1B Logan Morrison (hip) on the DL

2) FOX is apparently in negotiations with Jeff Fisher to hire the former Titans/Rams coach as an NFL commentator. You never know how good guys will be behind the mike, but I?ll be curious to hear what he has to say.

1) Even a former White House stenographer named Beck Dorey-Stein has written a book about her time working in the White House. The current political climate has been good for bookstores, if not for the rest of us.

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, July 13


Indiana @ Atlanta

Game 603-604
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
103.793
Atlanta
109.198
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 5 1/2
152
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Atlanta
by 8 1/2
156 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+8 1/2); Under

Phoenix @ Connecticut

Game 605-606
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
109.073
Connecticut
107.207
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 2
164
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
N/A

Chicago @ Washington

Game 607-608
July 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
98.557
Washington
113.490
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 15
176
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 9
173
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-9); Over

Las Vegas @ Minnesota

Game 609-610
July 13, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
104.847
Minnesota
119.188
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 14
168
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 10
163
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-10); Over




WNBA

Friday, July 13

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indiana Fever
Indiana is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
Indiana is 2-23 SU in its last 25 games
Indiana is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Indiana is 1-15 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indiana's last 8 games on the road
Indiana is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Atlanta
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 8 games when playing Atlanta
Indiana is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
Atlanta is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games at home
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 9 games at home
Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Indiana
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 8 games when playing Indiana
Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Indiana
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana


Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games
Phoenix is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games
Phoenix is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Phoenix is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Connecticut
Phoenix is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Phoenix is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Phoenix is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games
Connecticut is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Connecticut's last 10 games at home
Connecticut is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Phoenix
Connecticut is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Connecticut is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix


Chicago Sky
Chicago is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games
Chicago is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Chicago is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Chicago is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Chicago is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games when playing Washington
Chicago is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Washington
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games at home
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Chicago
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago


Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Las Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Las Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Las Vegas is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games on the road
Las Vegas is 7-14-1 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Minnesota
Las Vegas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Las Vegas's last 19 games when playing Minnesota
Las Vegas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Las Vegas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Las Vegas's last 9 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Minnesota is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games at home
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Minnesota's last 19 games when playing Las Vegas
Minnesota is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing at home against Las Vegas

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Friday, July 13

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INDIANA (2 - 18) at ATLANTA (10 - 9) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 14-26 ATS (-14.6 Units) after a division game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 6-3 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 5-4 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX (14 - 7) at CONNECTICUT (10 - 10) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 5-4 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 6-3 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO (7 - 13) at WASHINGTON (12 - 8) - 7/13/2018, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 12-22 ATS (-12.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 27-13 ATS (+12.7 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 322-380 ATS (-96.0 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 102-133 ATS (-44.3 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 184-235 ATS (-74.5 Units) after a division game since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 7-2 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 6-3 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LAS VEGAS (9 - 12) at MINNESOTA (12 - 8) - 7/13/2018, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LAS VEGAS is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LAS VEGAS is 82-55 ATS (+21.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 since 1997.
LAS VEGAS is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 4-3 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 7-0 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

 

[Cnotes53]

Dream looking to build on record-setting game as it hosts Indiana

The Atlanta Dream is flying high and the Indiana Fever are not, butixthe two teams are a lot more alike than their records might indicate, making their showdown on Friday in Atlanta at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech University a battle of wills as much as talent and momentum.

There's no doubt that the Dream produced their best game of the year in their most recent contest as they swamped Washington 106-89 on the road. Atlanta set a WNBA record when four players notched 20-plus and recorded at least five assists in a win.

Angel McCoughtry paced the Dream with 24 points and six assists, while Jessica Breland hit for 23 points and dished out seven assists, and Tiffany Hayes and Renee Montgomery each had 21 points and five assists for Atlanta in the statement win by one of the league's best defensive teams.

The Dream (10-9) shot 60 percent from the field, including 61 percent from 3-point range.

Atlanta had averaged 76 points per game over its first 17 contests and have become a better team as it had moved away from its reliance on McCoughtry to carry the load.

McCoughtry, who holds WNBA records for the most single-game points in the Finals (38) and playoffs (42), is averaging 16.9 per game this season, the lowest total in her career since her rookie year in 2009.

"I'm not the top scorer this year, and it certainly was something I'd always been," McCoughtry told the Washington Post. "But when you have the heart and desire to be great, you can't that play away, no matter what the stat line says.

"I let my teammates do their thing, and it kind of takes attention off of me a little bit, and then that's when I can come down and get my spots. I like to sneak and get them, to get my sneaky points in there."

Indiana (2-18) is back on the road after losing 87-65 to defending league champion Minnesota on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

The Fever fell behind early and trailed by as many as 22 points.

"We wanted to make sure we established some presence early on the defensive end and we didn't," Fever coach Pokey Chatman said after the loss to Minnesota. "It's hard to play catch up in this league, let alone against a team that has experience and savvy."

Guard Erica Wheeler led the way for Indiana off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while Kelsey Mitchell scored 11 points and Natalie Achonwa added 10 for the Fever in the loss.

"I got most of my shots because of defense, either turnovers or a steal, just that momentum and being aggressive," Wheeler told wnba.com when asked about her performance against Minnesota. "So, me being aggressive on defense allows me to be an offensive scorer and attack."

Indiana battles the Dream for the fourth and final time in 2018, hoping to even the season series at 2-2. Atlanta has escaped with five- and six-point wins over Indiana this season, while the Fever captured a 32-point win in what was the first of only two Indiana victories all year.

Atlanta owns a 21-20 advantage in the all-time series against the Fever; the Dream leads 13-7 in games played in Atlanta.

 

[Cnotes53]

Mercury's Taurasi returns to Connecticut to face Sun

Connecticut Sun fans often have former UConn players returning home and getting nice ovations from what used to be their home crowd.

They did it again Wednesday when Tina Charles and three other UConn alumni visited the Mohegan Sun Arena as members of the New York Liberty.

But Friday night is different. Friday night marks the (potential) latest return by Diana Taurasi.

The WNBA's all-time leading scorer, who also recently set the league mark for made field goals, and her Phoenix Mercury come to Uncasville.

The Mercury, who have already beaten the Sun twice this season, have lost the first two games of a four-game road trip, with illness forcing Taurasi out of Tuesday night's 101-72 loss at Dallas in the first quarter. That left her questionable for Friday.

Despite the two losses, Phoenix, led by the 1-2 punch of Taurasi and inside presence Brittney Griner, is 14-7 and in a battle for the top spot in the league.

Wednesday, the struggling Sun suffered a last-second loss to the Liberty -- falling to 10-10 with their ninth loss in their last 12 games.

Taurasi, averaging 19.6 points per game this season, has 44 points in two games against the Sun this season.

She is a three-time league champion, a four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner and six-time European champion. She was given the nickname "White Mamba," by Kobe Bryant, known as "Black Mamba."

Recently, Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, taken by the Phoenix Suns, was thrilled to meet Taurasi.

"I was freaking out," he said. "Because she just came over to me while I was working out, pumping some iron, you know? And she just like, was saying, 'Hello and great to have you.' I was like star-struck. I was speechless. She's the Michael Jordan of the WNBA."

The Sun -- who got Alyssa Thomas back after a 10-game absence (shoulder) and Courtney Williams back from a four-game absence (personal reasons) and also debuted the newly acquired Layshia Clarendon -- have had a heavy road schedule to deal with. They started a closing stretch of 11 of their final 15 games at home.

"What people fail to realize is we're excited that (the injured players are) back, but, at the same time, there's still an adjustment," Chiney Ogwumike said after Wednesday's loss. "This has been the year of adjustments.

"We started the year strong and then we lose AT and then we lose Courtney for a stretch. People have been dinged up here and there. So we're constantly making adjustments."

The Mercury have been dealing with the loss of Sancho Lyttle, who suffered a season-ending knee injury July 2.