The second half of the 2024 WNBA season is in full swing on the heels of the month-long All-Star and Olympic hiatus. I feel refreshed by the break as evidenced by my 2-0-2 record and I am once again here breaking down the top picks on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays this season. Join me as we build our bankrolls this summer!
Last time out we repeated our mantra loyally: Death, Taxes, and the Liberty winning as Underdogs. New York even played the ol’ rope-a-dope and got down early to Vegas, offering even more value, before notching their league-pacing 23rd W.
Let’s get into the action for Tuesday, August 20. Here are our top WNBA picks and predictions for Tuesday’s games.
- Consensus WNBA Odds
- WNBA Matchups
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Tuesday’s Best WNBA Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Seattle Storm (-6.5) at Washington Mystics (+235) | O/U 162.5 (-110/-110)
Washington is 0-2 out of the break, losing by 11 in Minnesota before coming home to lose to the same squad by 17 two days later. Washington is 2-7 against this number in their last nine games with both ATS wins being SU wins as well. Outside of SU wins against the Fever and Sparks, Washington has not kept a game within 6.5 points since a 3-point OT home loss to Connecticut back on June 27. Even factoring in the Olympic break, that’s a significant amount of time.
The Mystics are also a dismal 3-10 at home and mired in a 4-game skid at Entertainment & Sports Arena. For those of you wondering: Yes, that is the correct name of the arena and I did not leave any words out. Entertainment & Sports Arena…but I digress. Only six of Seattle’s 17 wins have come away from Climate Pledge Arena but they have fared well against Eastern Conference foes to the tune of 9-4.
Seattle won and covered in the first two meetings in this season’s series. They won 84-75 easily covering as 4.5-point favorites in DC back on May 19 before thumping the Mystics 101-69 in Seattle on May 25. The Storm are also 0-2 out of the break with losses in Atlanta and Indiana. This is not ideal but let’s err on the side of the 5-seed who is vying for a home playoff series over the team tied for dead last in the W.
This is a get-right game for Seattle and they will do just that as they fight for playoff seeding.
WNBA Pick: Storm -6.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Sparks (+750) at Connecticut Sun (-13.5) | O/U 156 (-108/-112)
If you have followed me this season, you know about Rickea Jackson Over Points: Any Team. Any Time. Any Place. Well, that mantra faces its toughest test tonight. The team is the defensive juggernaut Connecticut Sun. The time is 7pm. The place is TD Garden in Boston marking the first WNBA there. Outside of the time, none of this is ideal. However, time may be the key.
Time, when it comes to timing, couldn’t be more ideal for Rickea Jackson. She has cashed against this number in five straight and seven of eight. When you take into consideration how long her point line stayed at 11.5, Rickea has hit her Over in nine of her last ten games. Time, when it comes to playing time, couldn’t be more ideal either. Jackson is 11-0 against her respective scoring lines in her last 11 games in which she has played at least 27 minutes. In that same stretch, she is 10-1 against the current 12.5 line.
As for the team, the Sun possess the top-scoring defense, having allowed a WNBA-low 1,923 points so far this season. They are the only team that has yet to allow 2,000 points with the next closest team, the Minnesota Lynx (2,027), being separated by over 100 points. Like I said, what test could be bigger for a scoring prop than the squad that has allowed fewer points than any other by a wide margin?
However, back on June 18, RJ dropped 10 points on this same Sun team, in Connecticut (different place, same coast), in just 25 minutes. She fell two minutes shy of her 27-minute threshold which could have easily gotten her to 12 (her line then) or 13. That June 18 game was also significant because it was the game where Jackson’s fellow rookie Cameron Brink tore her ACL ending her season. Since that night, Jackson’s role on the team has expanded along with her growth and production in that increased usage. She also plays until the final horn most nights regardless of the score so that helps for cashing potential. Case in point: in the first game back from the break, a 35-point loss to New York, Jackson cashed her scoring prop with 45.1 seconds to go. Even when she’s not on schedule, she’s always on time.
Let’s say it with our chests: RICKEA JACKSON OVER 12.5 POINTS: ANY TEAM. ANY TIME. ANY PLACE.
WNBA Pick: Rickea Jackson Over 12.5 Points (-120)
For more information on how to bet futures, check out our Betting 101 series>>
Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.
