SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
Los Angeles a sparky dog play at +4 against the Sun on ESPN2
Los Angeles a sparky dog play at +4 against the Sun on ESPN2
http://www.sportsbookreview.com/Betting+Arti...sun-espn2.aspx
7/14/2009 6:47 AM ET
By: "Reload" Joe Freda | reload.mysbrforum.com
With just three games under her belt following maternity leave, the cameras will be on LA's Candace Parker tonight when the Sparks travel east to face the Connecticut Sun on ESPN2.
Both the Sparks and Sun have had disappointing seasons with losing records thus far and each are looking for a big win on television as the WNBA approaches its midway point. On Saturday, both teams had losses with the Sparks getting beat in Washington by the Mystics and the Sun dropping a tough overtime game at home to the Detroit Shock. So the question tonight is which team will get it turned around? I think the Sparks are in a better position to do so and I am going with them plus 4 points as they look to steal a road win in Connecticut.
Prior to losing on Saturday, the Sun also found a way to fall behind early in Atlanta a week ago. They lost to the Dream as they found themselves sandwiched between games against the Shock which were clearly more exciting showdowns to the team. At this point, the Sun have had five straight games against Eastern Conference opponents and may not know what to expect when a Sparks team comes to town who is very hungry to end their east coast swing with a win.
The Sun's star guard Lindsay Whalen and forward Asjha Jones are each coming off one of their best outings of the season as both put up 20 and 23 points, respectively, against Detroit. Jones even pulled in 10 rebounds which is quite a feat against the Shock who over the years have made their living on rebounding. I feel it will be hard for the Sun’s stars to be as up for this game tonight after giving it their all on Saturday and bringing their A-game against a rival only to have it result in a close overtime loss.
The Sparks had one of their lowest scoring efforts of the season on Saturday against the Mystics by only managing to get 63 points on the board. Falling behind in Washington by 22 to 7 at the end of the first quarter, LA rallied all the way back to tie the game in the 4th quarter. However, a scoreless final few minutes left the Sparks with a frustrating loss and likely making them very eager to get back on the court tonight. The boxscore may make it look like a sizeable defeat, but the heart was clearly there for LA and it should continue tonight in Connecticut.
LA's Candace Parker has had a very disappointing return from maternity leave as she has yet to even put up double digits in any of her three games. But the ESPN2 television cameras might be what changes that tonight as this might be the breakout game that Parker and the Sparks are hoping for.
Without having much to show for offensive effort this season, both the Sparks and Sun have been getting it done with defense this season giving up an average of 72.5 and 71 points a game, respectively. This puts both teams among the top five in the league for defense, and each team has recently been challenged by opponents with some scoring power. So the numbers are for real, but will the defenses show up tonight? I think LA’s will but I am not so sure about Connecticut. The Sparks will throw some weapons at the Sun that they are not use to seeing and up the middle could especially be some trouble as the centers for each team battle.
The Sun have had two inexperienced centers this season as rookie Chante Black and sophomore Sandrine Gruda have both started for them. Gruda shot 0-for-6 on her way to fouling out Saturday and was held to no points in 24 minutes on the court while Black shot a disappointing 0-for-4 during 26 minutes of play. They will have their hands full again tonight as veterans Tina Thompson and DeLisa Milton-Jones will take the court for the Sparks against them. Thompson has been one of the top ten rebounders in the league this season averaging seven per game and Milton-Jones had one of her top rebounding efforts of the season on Saturday in Washington by pulling down seven of them.
The Sparks have also made good use out of their bench during each game this season and looking for matching up players against the opposition when the right moves need to be made. LA guard Betty Lennox scored 10 points off the bench Saturday in only 18 minutes on the floor, including two three pointers. The Sun do not have this same depth and will especially miss Tamika Whitmore’s presence on the bench as she will be out for several weeks due to knee surgery.
The line for this game opened at 2.5 points and has gone up to 4 at the time of this article. I cannot see it going much higher than this and expect both teams to get their share of action at the betting windows here. Remember to not be fooled by last season’s game in Connecticut between these teams as the Sparks were blown out by the Sun when coach Michael Cooper chose to sit his best players that night as they looked ahead to the playoffs. I am sure he wishes he could have that decision to make tonight but instead the Sparks will have to go all out for a win!
Take the LA Sparks plus the points and good luck getting through the baseball all-star break! There is more WNBA action is on the board tomorrow and I will be back with another article then.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by RoagBettor
