10:05 pm
July 7

Sparks @ Storm

Who will WIN this matchup?

Los Angeles Sparks (6-11)

@ Seattle Storm (14-4)

 

Current odds:

Los Angeles Sparks: (+800)

Seattle Storm: (-1300)

 

• The line for this game is Storm by 15 points.

• The Seattle Storm, who play host to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday night, have three players who have been selected for this year’s All-Star Game: Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart. But Seattle (14-4) is more than just those stars, and it may have to prove it on Wednesday if Loyd misses another game due to a sprained left ankle.

• Loyd missed Sunday’s 84-74 win over the Sparks and is questionable for the rematch. But the Storm do not seem worried. That’s because on Sunday — in Loyd’s absence — Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor stepped up and scored a career-high 20 points. In addition to Magbebor, Seattle also got 18 points from Epiphanny Prince, who started in place of Loyd.

• All that depth helps explain why Seattle is tied with the Las Vegas Aces for the league’s best record.

• Meanwhile, the Sparks (6-11) have lost four straight games, which is tied with Washington for the longest active losing streak in the league. The Sparks are 1-6 in their past seven games.

• The Sparks are ahead of just one team — Indiana — in the league standings.

• Los Angeles, which has struggled to a 2-5 road record, has been stripped of firepower due to injuries as Kristi Toliver and the Ogwumike sisters (Nneka and Chiney) are all expected out for Wednesday. Due to their extended absences, the Sparks rank second-to-last in the league in scoring (74.5).

• One positive for the Sparks is the play of Brittney Sykes, who posted her first double-double of the season on Sunday against the Storm, bagging 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists.

• But the Sparks would love to get more from 6-4 backup center Lauren Cox, who has averaged 4.3 points in three games since joining Los Angeles last month. Cox, the third player selected in the 2020 draft, was picked up by the Sparks after being released by Indiana.

8/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Seattle Storm
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