Wings Will Fall Against The Fever

Fever vs. Wings, 7:30 ET

Fever vs. Wings, 7:30 ET

You might not believe this, but we won once again in the WNBA yesterday and it wasn't much of a sweat. Taking the over in the game between the Sparks and the Storm, we cleared the total by 10+ points. Not all of them will be that easy, but it was a nice way to run our record up to 12-3 for Outkick plays. With the MLB off today and tomorrow, so we are going to run it back here and take a chance on one of just two games today. This game features media-darling Caitlin Clark as the Fever takes on the Wings. 

Last season, the Fever were really struggling. It seems to have been worth it as they were able to get the first pick and be invigorated with Clark on the team as she chose to go pro instead of staying at Iowa for one more season. This season hasn't been all rainbows and sunshine, but there have been obvious improvements. Last season, they won a total of 13 games, and didn't win their 11th game until August 27th, which was 35 games into the season. They have 11 wins through 25 games this year. Keep in mind, there was a substantial period in time where they struggled to start the season. They were 1-8 after their first nine games. That means since then they are 10-6. Even more recently, they are 8-4 over their past 12 games. Part of the change, is that the team seems to be playing better together. At the beginning of the season, they might have tried to force Clark into too much action instead of allowing her to just be a playmaker. There is only one game this season where she hasn't led the team in assists, but lately, she's been an assist machine with over 10 assists in six of the past eight games. This team is turning into a strong trio with Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell. I would actually like to see Boston have a bigger role in the offense, but for now, the team is playing well. 

The Wings are probably going to have a very high draft pick next season. They are struggling this season and have just five wins for the year. This is the first time they will see the Fever, which is fine, but we can't examine how they will matchup. The biggest problem for them has been defense as they have allowed almost 90 points per game this season to opponents. They've lost four of their past five games, and they allowed 100 points or more in three of them. The Fever aren't a ridiculously high-scoring team, but they can play with pace and I don't think this is a great matchup for the Wings. In fairness to the wings, they have had injury issues this season. I can't say that's the full reason for the poor results, and certainly not for the defensive issues, but they are contributing factors. They have some solid players that should put up good results in this game. Led by Arike Ogunbowale, the offense can score in bunches, and the Fever aren't exactly a lockdown defense. I'd image that Clark will not guard Ogunbowale, because if she does, she will get torched. 

Betting the over on Wings games has been a pretty safe bet this season. In this one, you really are just asking both teams to score somewhere around 85 points which is in line with their offensive production and defensive numbers. I think we play this two ways though. First, take the over 171.5 for the game, and the second is to take the Fever -3.5. I know the Wings will give it their all in this game because it is the first against Clark and teams won't get more attention than today's game. However, I think the Fever are a significantly better team and are playing better basketball. I'm not super happy that this is a road game for the Fever, but I like both of these plays. 

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