Football has consumed everyone over the past few days as the NFL has returned from summer hiatus. Game 1 of the WNBA finals was on Sunday, you may have missed it with the hubbub of the NFL. However, now we can focus all our energy on tonight’s game 2 between the Connecticut Sun and Las Vegas Aces. Here is our WNBA Finals game 2 Wicked Wagers.
Game Preview
The Aces took Game 1 on Sunday but had to fend off the Sun late in the 4th quarter to do so. Game 1 was much lower scoring than anyone expected it to be. Both teams played great defense forcing their opponent into a poor shooting performance with both shooting under 40% from the floor. Las Vegas had an especially poor performance from beyond the arc, shooting a dismal and surprising 20.8% from deep. Let me remind you, this Vegas team was the #1 scoring team, and 3-point shooting team during the regular season. Game 2 will be better, with those finals’ jitters shaken off and both teams settling down. Considering there isn’t much to bet on tonight, there’s tons of opportunities to maximize the value in this game. This is a good chance to get your bankroll right if football wasn’t good to you this week. There are a handful of Wicked Wagers that I’m looking at tonight.
It’s no surprise that the #1 seeded Aces are favored tonight. BetRivers is offering us the home team at -4.5 points, with a total of 163.5. Las Vegas is now 3-1 against the Sun this year and would have covered 4.5 in both regular season victories. Additionally, all three matchups would have gone over tonight’s total of 163.5. We see this in basketball regularly, where things tighten up in the playoffs, defenses get better, and rotations get shorter. However, expect a much faster paced game tonight than what we saw on Sunday.
Wicked Wagers
Both teams are very good (duh, they made the finals), and both teams can score points in bunches. Shooting percentages should improve, and Vegas will shoot the 3-point better tonight. Expect the Aces to push the tempo tonight and tire out Connecticut’s bigs, where they have a clear advantage. Vegas is going to come out firing from the jump, and that brings me to my first Wicked Wager. The Aces, to no surprise, are favored in the first quarter, with BetRivers offering us -1 @ -122 and -1.5 @-109. My play here is the Aces -1.5 for almost even money. This has been a very profitable bet on them at home all season. The game flow expectation is that the Aces jump out to an early lead, leaning on their guards to hit the 3. Then they’ll close out the first 10 minutes with at least a 2-point lead. We are talking about the best team in women’s hoops, on their home court, to win the first quarter by a bucket, and I love it.
I’m going to bounce the other direction in the second quarter and take the Sun on the moneyline. Connecticut has a better second unit than the Aces do. They showed that on Sunday with a dominant 2Q, propelling them to a halftime lead. Basketball is a game of runs, and the Sun will inevitably go on one of their own. Give me the Sun 2Q ML at +105. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, we are playing game flow runs tonight, so back to the Aces in the 3Q. Vegas will have its starting unit out there again and will cover a short number of -1 out of halftime.
There are also a couple excellent player props tonight. DeWanna Bonner of the Sun has been awesome this post season but was horrible in Game 1. Expect her to bounce back tonight, shoot the ball better and eclipse her 15.5-point prop total. She has gone for 19 points twice this season against the Aces. Expect her to repeat that success in a faster paced game tonight. Considering the expectation of a higher scoring game, I will also be playing assist props for Kelsey Plum (3.5), and Chelsea Gray (6.5). After 2 and 3 assists respectively in game 1, those numbers must go up. I’ll throw some pizza money on each of them to get their teammates involved.
Vegas goes up 2-0 in this series tonight with their first title in their sights. We’ll see a good offensive game for our Tuesday night viewing pleasure.
Wicked Wagers – Aces 1Q -1.5 / Sun 2Q ML / Aces 3Q -1
Wicked Player Props – Bonner Over 15.5 Points / Plum Over 3.5 Assists / Gray Over 6.5 Assists