The Atlanta Dream made a Cinderella run to the WNBA Finals in 2010, but this team is for real with the addition of Lindsey Harding and gets our call to beat the LA Sparks in the 2011 Finals.
The 2011 WNBA season is now upon us, and what was once considered a novelty way back when has now become a legitimate money maker for astute bettors, as many experts feel that the WNBA is the easiest professional sport to bear.
The Seattle Storm are the defending WNBA Champions after sweeping the Atlanta Dream 3-0 in the 2010 Finals. Atlanta had, well, a “Dream” run last year by reaching the finals as the fourth seed in the East, while Seattle was the top overall seed in the league with a great 28-6 regular season record on the WNBA odds.
We are now looking for the Dream to take the next step and win the WNBA Championship this season for the first time in franchise history at nice +563 odds on the WNBA future betting oddsfrom Pinnacle. As you might expect, the Storm are +285 favorites to repeat as champions inWNBA betting, but we like the Los Angeles Sparks (+684) to upset the field in the West to become the Dream’s opponents on the WNBA matchups in the finals.
Here is our synopsis for each WNBA team this year in order of out projected finish in each conference, along with the future championship odds for each team courtesy of Pinnacle Sports.
Eastern Conference
1 – Atlanta Dream (+563): Even though the Dream got swept in the finals last season, they lot all three games by three points or less and wound up 6-1 against the WNBA betting odds in the playoffs. The acquisition of Lindsey Harding from the Washington Mystics should be what puts the Dream over the top, and in turn may make the Dream’s stiffest threat in the East weaker. Atlanta already has three All-Stars in Angel McCoughtry, Iziane Castro Marques and Sancho Little, so adding Harding could make them unstoppable.
2 – Washington Mystics (+945): It is easy to forget that the Mystics were actually the top seeds in the East last season with a 22-12 record, and they were also the best bets in the WNBA, going 19-13-2, 59.4 percent against the spread. However, the Dream knocked out the Mystics in the first round of the playoffs, and while they can offset the 12.1 points per game that the departed Harding averaged last season, they will have a tough time replacing here great perimeter defense. Washington can score with anyone, but the better Atlanta defense is a key reason why it will be the Dream making the championship run this season.
3 – New York Liberty (+1110): The Liberty were another victim of the Dream’s run last year, getting knocked out by Atlanta in a two-game sweep in the second round of the playoffs. New York is right on the verge of bring a championship contender, but it failed to make any significant improvements in the off season, essentially returning the same team as last year.. Now, there may be nothing wrong with that, as that team won 22 games and has an MVP candidate in Cappie Poindexter, who finished second in the league at 21.4 points per game. However, we feel that the Liberty are one player away from challenging our top two in the East, as they do not get much production off the bench.
4 – Indiana Fever (+1221): Besides the Dream and the Los Angeles Sparks out if the West, the Fever may offer the third best value in the league at these inflated odds. Indiana is the longest shot on the board in the Eastern Conference at Pinnacle, but we see the Fever sneaking into the fourth and final playoff spot. This team has great veteran leadership in forward Tamika Catchings and guard Katie Douglass, who have a combined 19 years of WNBA experience between them, and with Douglass hitting on nearly 40 percent of her three-point shots last year and with Catchings doing her best work in the paint, the duo gives Indiana a nice inside-outside game.
5 – Connecticut Sun (+1000: Now the Sun may improve some after finishing a disappointing 17-17 last year, but we simply feel that they are underpriced at 10/1 and that they will struggle to make the playoffs. In fact, we expect them to miss out, even with six-foot-four Rookie of the Year Tina Charles at center. Yes, Charles is a matchup nightmare and will only get better, but it is her supporting cast that leaves much to be desired. This team averaged 14.7 turnovers per game last season and it failed to upgrade its point guard play.
6 – Chicago Sky (+1110): The Sky have brought in a new head coach in Pokey Chatman after finishing at 14-20 last season, and like Connecticut, the Sky also have a potentially dominant center in six-foot-six Sylvia Fowles, who nearly averaged a double-double last season at 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Also, Epiphany Prince should improve after a nice rookie season and the Sky drafted wisely by taking Courtney Vandersloot with the third pick. This team will challenge Connecticut for the fifth spot, but we do not see this club in the playoffs just yet.
Western Conference
1 – Los Angeles Sparks (+684): Yes, the Sparks went just 13-21 in 2010, but remember that they lost All-Star Candace Parker early in the season. She is back now and healthier than she has been in about three years, and even without her, the Sparks improved as the year went on last year by distributing the ball better. Parker is more of a one-on-one player that has averaged nearly a double-double throughout here career, so Los Angeles with have to find a balance between Parker getting her necessary touches and also playing the way they did at the end of last year, with Ticha Penicheiro and Noelle Quinn piling up assists and Tina Thompson playing like an MVP candidate. If they can keep everyone happy, we see the Sparks knocking out the Storm in the West Finals.
2 – Seattle Storm (+285): Now Seattle will be a tough out as usual, but they should feel the sting of losing Svetlana Abrosimova and Abby Bishop from last year’s championship team. Remember that the Seattle starters played more minutes than any other team in the league last season, as they had a great starting five but the bench provided practically nothing. Well, only three of the starters are back and the Storm only added one more in Katie Smith, acquired from Washington. For that reason, we feel that the Storm are poor bets to repeat at these short odds.
3 – Phoenix Mercury (+891): The Mercury should be much improved this year with Diana Taurasi having had several months of rest since failing a drug test when testing positive for Modafinil while playing in Turkey in December. That may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as Taurasi had become accustomed to playing overseas during the WNBA off season, so the extended rest after playing so many months in past years may actually lead to an improved performance from an already top-of-the-line player this year.
4 – Minnesota Lynx (+891): The Lynx should battle San Antonio for the final playoff spot in the West, and with the Silver Stars now decimated to being a two-woman team, we will give the nod to the Lynx. Minnesota has a legitimate superstar in Maya Moore and they made a great pick-up in acquiring Taj McWilliams-Franklin from New York. The biggest key to this team though may be Monica Wright, who averaged 11.1 points per game last year but on just 37 percent shooting. Well, she upped that shooting percentage to 51 percent in the Euroleague this winter, so some improvement is likely.
5 – San Antonio Silver Stars (+1221): The Stars have in all likelihood lost both Chamique Holdsclaw and Edwige Lawson-Wade for the season this year, meaning that the team is now composed of two legitimate stars in Becky Hammon and Sophia Young and a bunch of no-names. Unless one of the nobodies steps up this season, the Silver Stars could be in for a disappointingly long season.
6 – Tulsa Shock (+1660): The Shock had the worst record in the WNBA last season at a woeful 6-28, and even with some improvement, they may very well end up with the league’s worst record again. Truth be told, we do not even think that these 16/1 odds are as high as they should be. The Shock have a legitimate chance of finishing with single-digit wins two years in a row, a feat that has been “accomplished” twice previously in the WNBA, by the Silver Stars in 2004 and 2005 and by the defunct Utah Starzz in 1997 and 1998.
The 2011 WNBA season is now upon us, and what was once considered a novelty way back when has now become a legitimate money maker for astute bettors, as many experts feel that the WNBA is the easiest professional sport to bear.
The Seattle Storm are the defending WNBA Champions after sweeping the Atlanta Dream 3-0 in the 2010 Finals. Atlanta had, well, a “Dream” run last year by reaching the finals as the fourth seed in the East, while Seattle was the top overall seed in the league with a great 28-6 regular season record on the WNBA odds.
We are now looking for the Dream to take the next step and win the WNBA Championship this season for the first time in franchise history at nice +563 odds on the WNBA future betting oddsfrom Pinnacle. As you might expect, the Storm are +285 favorites to repeat as champions inWNBA betting, but we like the Los Angeles Sparks (+684) to upset the field in the West to become the Dream’s opponents on the WNBA matchups in the finals.
Here is our synopsis for each WNBA team this year in order of out projected finish in each conference, along with the future championship odds for each team courtesy of Pinnacle Sports.
Eastern Conference
2 – Washington Mystics (+945): It is easy to forget that the Mystics were actually the top seeds in the East last season with a 22-12 record, and they were also the best bets in the WNBA, going 19-13-2, 59.4 percent against the spread. However, the Dream knocked out the Mystics in the first round of the playoffs, and while they can offset the 12.1 points per game that the departed Harding averaged last season, they will have a tough time replacing here great perimeter defense. Washington can score with anyone, but the better Atlanta defense is a key reason why it will be the Dream making the championship run this season.
3 – New York Liberty (+1110): The Liberty were another victim of the Dream’s run last year, getting knocked out by Atlanta in a two-game sweep in the second round of the playoffs. New York is right on the verge of bring a championship contender, but it failed to make any significant improvements in the off season, essentially returning the same team as last year.. Now, there may be nothing wrong with that, as that team won 22 games and has an MVP candidate in Cappie Poindexter, who finished second in the league at 21.4 points per game. However, we feel that the Liberty are one player away from challenging our top two in the East, as they do not get much production off the bench.
4 – Indiana Fever (+1221): Besides the Dream and the Los Angeles Sparks out if the West, the Fever may offer the third best value in the league at these inflated odds. Indiana is the longest shot on the board in the Eastern Conference at Pinnacle, but we see the Fever sneaking into the fourth and final playoff spot. This team has great veteran leadership in forward Tamika Catchings and guard Katie Douglass, who have a combined 19 years of WNBA experience between them, and with Douglass hitting on nearly 40 percent of her three-point shots last year and with Catchings doing her best work in the paint, the duo gives Indiana a nice inside-outside game.
5 – Connecticut Sun (+1000: Now the Sun may improve some after finishing a disappointing 17-17 last year, but we simply feel that they are underpriced at 10/1 and that they will struggle to make the playoffs. In fact, we expect them to miss out, even with six-foot-four Rookie of the Year Tina Charles at center. Yes, Charles is a matchup nightmare and will only get better, but it is her supporting cast that leaves much to be desired. This team averaged 14.7 turnovers per game last season and it failed to upgrade its point guard play.
6 – Chicago Sky (+1110): The Sky have brought in a new head coach in Pokey Chatman after finishing at 14-20 last season, and like Connecticut, the Sky also have a potentially dominant center in six-foot-six Sylvia Fowles, who nearly averaged a double-double last season at 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Also, Epiphany Prince should improve after a nice rookie season and the Sky drafted wisely by taking Courtney Vandersloot with the third pick. This team will challenge Connecticut for the fifth spot, but we do not see this club in the playoffs just yet.
Western Conference
1 – Los Angeles Sparks (+684): Yes, the Sparks went just 13-21 in 2010, but remember that they lost All-Star Candace Parker early in the season. She is back now and healthier than she has been in about three years, and even without her, the Sparks improved as the year went on last year by distributing the ball better. Parker is more of a one-on-one player that has averaged nearly a double-double throughout here career, so Los Angeles with have to find a balance between Parker getting her necessary touches and also playing the way they did at the end of last year, with Ticha Penicheiro and Noelle Quinn piling up assists and Tina Thompson playing like an MVP candidate. If they can keep everyone happy, we see the Sparks knocking out the Storm in the West Finals.
2 – Seattle Storm (+285): Now Seattle will be a tough out as usual, but they should feel the sting of losing Svetlana Abrosimova and Abby Bishop from last year’s championship team. Remember that the Seattle starters played more minutes than any other team in the league last season, as they had a great starting five but the bench provided practically nothing. Well, only three of the starters are back and the Storm only added one more in Katie Smith, acquired from Washington. For that reason, we feel that the Storm are poor bets to repeat at these short odds.
3 – Phoenix Mercury (+891): The Mercury should be much improved this year with Diana Taurasi having had several months of rest since failing a drug test when testing positive for Modafinil while playing in Turkey in December. That may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as Taurasi had become accustomed to playing overseas during the WNBA off season, so the extended rest after playing so many months in past years may actually lead to an improved performance from an already top-of-the-line player this year.
4 – Minnesota Lynx (+891): The Lynx should battle San Antonio for the final playoff spot in the West, and with the Silver Stars now decimated to being a two-woman team, we will give the nod to the Lynx. Minnesota has a legitimate superstar in Maya Moore and they made a great pick-up in acquiring Taj McWilliams-Franklin from New York. The biggest key to this team though may be Monica Wright, who averaged 11.1 points per game last year but on just 37 percent shooting. Well, she upped that shooting percentage to 51 percent in the Euroleague this winter, so some improvement is likely.
5 – San Antonio Silver Stars (+1221): The Stars have in all likelihood lost both Chamique Holdsclaw and Edwige Lawson-Wade for the season this year, meaning that the team is now composed of two legitimate stars in Becky Hammon and Sophia Young and a bunch of no-names. Unless one of the nobodies steps up this season, the Silver Stars could be in for a disappointingly long season.
6 – Tulsa Shock (+1660): The Shock had the worst record in the WNBA last season at a woeful 6-28, and even with some improvement, they may very well end up with the league’s worst record again. Truth be told, we do not even think that these 16/1 odds are as high as they should be. The Shock have a legitimate chance of finishing with single-digit wins two years in a row, a feat that has been “accomplished” twice previously in the WNBA, by the Silver Stars in 2004 and 2005 and by the defunct Utah Starzz in 1997 and 1998.
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