The Chicago Sky are on a roll and will look to push their momentum forward even further heading into the WNBA All-Star break. Looking to make that premise bleaker on Saturday is the Phoenix Mercury.
While Chicago is difficult to bet against on the moneyline, the spread and total for today’s game could be an entirely different matter. As always, though, bettors are the only ones who can decide how best to spend their own bankrolls.
Opening Chicago Sky odds on Saturday
Bettors can watch this meeting of the last year’s Finals qualifiers on ESPN at 1 p.m. EDT. Caesars has Chicago as a nine-point favorite on its spread with a total of 169.5 for this contest.
That spread is identical to that which Canadian and US sportsbooks had on this matchup earlier this season, also played at Wintrust Arena. There have been some changes since, however.
Charles not in charge
Since the Sky last welcome Phoenix in, the Mercury have released veteran Tina Charles. Charles is a prolific scorer as a big and while the breakup seemed amenable, it’s another indicator of internal strife on the team.
Skylar Diggins-Smith‘s Twitter activity suggests the same.
Thus, Phoenix could be a team in turmoil Saturday. That isn’t great for the Mercury’s chances no matter who they were facing, but it’s horrible timing for them.
Flying Sky high
Coming into this game, Chicago has won (outright):
- Last four in a row
- Seven of last eight
- 10 of last 12
In fact, the Sky have yet to lose back-to-back games straight up this season. At the same time, their record against the spread when such a large favorite at home is far from impeccable.
They’ve been a home favorite by at least nine points twice this season, including the earlier meeting with Phoenix. Chicago has yet to cover such a spread at Wintrust.
The Mercury have only been a road underdog by nine or more points one time besides the earlier meeting with the Sky. Their record ATS in such games is 1-1.
So while the data on the spread for Saturday doesn’t necessarily suggest any obvious plays, it’s worth taking a look at the total for this game as well.
Consider the over for Saturday’s game
The pre-game line on the total for the earlier meeting of these two teams was 166.5, so the actual total failed to hit that mark. However, that was somewhat of an outlier for these teams.
In a combined 30 games these teams have taken part in this season for which the pre-game total landed at 169.5 or lower, the over has cashed in 17 of them. While bettors should take into account that Phoenix no longer has the benefit of Charles’ offense, the over is still worth a look Saturday.
