The defending champion Chicago Sky head west for a pair of mid-week matchups, beginning with a date with the Las Vegas Aces at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the Michelob Ultra Arena. The Sky (10-5) are coming off a two-point loss against the bottom feeder Indiana Fever on Sunday. Check the Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces Stats.
The Aces (13-2) have the league’s best record and have won four straight games. The first meeting in Chicago went the Aces’ way, 83-76, winning as road favorites with U 172.5 cashing.
Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces Stats
Chicago Sky Stats
Despite an up and down season by defending champs’ standards, the Sky are ahead of where they were at this point last year. They are a top-three offense and above-average defense. All that despite an offseason shake-up with the roster, losing key pieces, and plugging those holes with other talented players.
The Sky are third in scoring at 84.2 points per game. They are also the top free-throw shooting team, converting 82.2% of attempts, which is key when they have leads late in games to close opponents out. Getting to the foul line should be a big emphasis, of course.
Chicago is fifth defensively across the board in allowing 80.1 points per game and opponents shooting 42.9% from the field and 32.6% from 3-point range.
Veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot has a five-point lead on her wife, Allie Quigley, for the Sky’s all-time leading scorer after outpacing her by that margin on Sunday. They were starters on last year’s championship team alongside Kahleah Copper, the team’s leading scorer at 15.0 points per game, and Candace Parker.
The addition of Emma Meesseman has been big to replace Stephanie Dolson. Meesseman is second in points (13.0) and rebounding (6.7).
Las Vegas Aces Stats
Las Vegas has benefitted from first-year coach Becky Hammon, who signed after Bill Laimbeer stepped away, and she couldn’t land a head coaching job in the NBA. It also shows women’s basketball growth, and her move is only helping that.
Hammon is heading into the Hall of Fame and is a pioneer, becoming the first female full-time assistant coach when she joined Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs staff in 2015. This summer, she’s proving many NBA executives who passed on her wrong and that she is more than capable of leading a team.
The Aces play the extremes even more than Chicago. They are the top-scoring team in the league, averaging 91.3 points per game, and are third in shooting across the board with percentages of 46.4% from the field, 35.7% from 3-point range, and 80.6% from the free-throw line.
Defensively, they are seventh in allowing 81.6 points per game, though that is somewhat due to pace because of opposing shooting percentages. Las Vegas holds teams to 41.6% from the field (third) and 30.3% from the 3-point line, the best mark in the league.
Losing Liz Cambage, as talented as she is, has opened up the floor and allowed the Aces to push the pace even more. Kelsey Plum leads the team at 20.9 points per game and is tied with Chelsea Gray at 5.9 assists per game.
A’ja Wilson is still great, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Then Jackie Young is third in scoring at 17.8 points per game.
Riquna Williams is out indefinitely with a foot injury. She’s played in two games and averaged 9.0 points per game between them.
Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces Betting Trends
- The Sky are 6-9 against the spread
- Chicago is 7-7-1 on over/under this season
- The Aces are 9-6 against the spread and on over/under
- Las Vegas has covered three of the last four meetings
- The over has hit in three of those games, too
- The Aces are even odds to win the WNBA championship
- The Sky are third at +450 to defend their championship
Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces Predictions
WNBA odds show Las Vegas has two of the top four favorites to win WNBA Most Valuable Player, with Wilson (+110) as the favorite and Plum (+1500) trailing her. Along with being the favorites to win the championship, the Aces have won seven games by double digits.
They hope to continue that dominance against a Sky team that has been up and down. They’ll string together a couple of wins and then lose that streak.
Their against-the-spread record is telling, too, that they are not performing as they are capable. But they had Parker out of the lineup for a game, and Copper, the Finals MVP, missed four games before she could join the team from overseas.
While these two are top WNBA picks to win the title, the Aces have been dominant and should cover, especially if Parker, who is listed as questionable with a knee injury, can’t play. Unlike betting on baseball, the spread is viable, especially in WNBA games. The over feels like a safe bet with two of the quicker-paced teams in the league.
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