WNBA Season 2021

Welcome back all, hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.. The WNBA season tips off this Friday night which is exciting. Will give my usual team previews before tip off and will have my bet for the championship. We hit the Storm last year at a nice 7/1 odds so let’s look for some value. Some teams are still carrying 16 players which they need to trim down to 12 before Friday. Some teams will only take 11 due to their situation with the cap. 

For those that don’t know, Atlanta Dream lost Nikki Colleen last week as she signed for a college team. Not the best timing but they have signed some new coaches already .

Some players are still overseas due to their overseas team commitments as their seasons continue on. Some players also not showing up for the start of the season due to a 3x3 tournament being held. So it will be tough at the start of the season. 

Good luck everyone, will slowly provide my previews and expectations of teams in the next day or so (definitely before tip off).. 

BOL everyone. Let’s keep this forum clean and  rid of any trolling or bashing. Don’t need that drama here..

Hey oz. Can you give us the details on important players who are not playing this season? Like della done who miss the start of the season etc. thanks oz

@AussieDownUnder

@OverMachine

 Yeah mate will try my best to give the most up to date details I possibly can.

Connecticut Sun 

Believe this season is going to be very tough for them. They lost Alyssa Thomas due to injury for the year but they have kept her contract, so it appears they will head into the season with 11 players. 

Unless this changes, this is their roster 

Kaila Charles
Jonquel Jones
DiJonai Carrington (rookie)
Jasmine Thomas
Beatrice Mompremier
Dewanna Bonner
Briann January
Brionna Jones
Kamiah Smalls
Natisha Heidemann
Stephanie Jones (rookie)

That roster does not look good to me at all. Bench looks rather weak as I expect their starting 5 to be Jonquel, Bonner, Jasmine Thomas, Brionna Jones and Kaila Charles. Kurt Miller is going to struggle with this roster. Yes Jonquel is a great player but she also feeds off facilitators and since Courtney Williams left in 2019, we haven’t seen Jonquel Jones play with this roster. She needs to be feed the ball so let’s see if Jasmine Thomas, January and Heidemann can do that. I don’t know much about these two rookies but they will be facing a tough challenge. Mompremier should have a nice season backing up to Jonquel and her experience last season in the bubble will be a plus. Guards are going to be their issue this season. 

Prediction: 10-12th (no playoffs) 

@AussieDownUnder

 I like the Sun a little more than you.  They finished 7th last year, and have basically the same roster back with Jones subbing in for Thomas. That is a downgrade overall, but Jones is a better scorer IMO.  If she and Bonner have good years, I see no reason they can't finish 7th to 9th.  I agree backcourt and depth are their weaknesses.

Thanks oz. lets talk about the opening night games

Ind@Ny

Con@Atl

Pho@Min

Dal@Las

@AussieDownUnder

Phoenix Mercury

Mercury has kept their same team as last season with Kia Nurse signing from Liberty and also Megan Walker. I hope Nurse can break out of her slump. With her additional, not entirely sure if she will start or be a bench player. 

They cut three players last night so they are at 11 players

Brittney Griner
Diana Taurasi
Brianna Turner
Bria Hartley
Kia Vaughn
Skylar Diggins-Smith
Alanna Smith
Sophie Cunningham
Shey Peddy
Megan Walker
Kia Nurse

It’s a good looking roster but if they get an injury to a big name, believe they will struggle. Bench looks rather weak and if Nurse continues her poor shooting form like last season, then her playing time will surely dip. DT will always keep them in games no matter how old she is. She needs Skylar to be more consistent and stop turning the ball over as much as she does and she needs Griner to be more physical and use her 6’8 frame. Soft as tissues up against thicker opponents in the paint. 

I don’t see them finishing top 4 this season but do think they can finish in the 5-8 spots. 

As far as I know they have all players on deck about from Shey Peddy who should arrive next week.

Prediction: 5th-8th

@thorpe

 They just cut Kamiah Smalls so they must be bringing in someone who is a free agent. Only have 10 on the roster now and Jasmine Thomas has been temporarily suspended due to being overseas still. Maybe I am being a little harsh because that starting 5 is good but for me it’s the fact that their backcourt is weak and Jones really needs players to get her the ball which I’m not too sure this backcourt can when push comes to shove

@OverMachine

 Need to see final rosters mate and who is available this weekend. Might be one of those weekends where you sit back and watch the games because it’s hard to get a grasp so early on. My books do have lines already which is great to see

@AussieDownUnder

 Pretty much on the same page as you for the Mercury.  They can probably beat anyone on a good night and lose to anyone on a bad night.  Nurse is a question mark, change of scenery will probably do her good.  Alanna Smith has been pretty terrible her first two years,  I think she could have a good year this year shooting the ball.  She was a pretty good shooter in college. 

Here are the odds from my book on making the playoffs (first number) and winning (second number in parenthesis)

Storm -5000 (+225)

Aces -3335 (+300)

Lynx -625 (+650)

Mystics -560 (+500)

Sky -560 (+650)

Sun -560 (+800)

Sparks -375 (+1100)

Mercury -375 (+1100)

Dallas +120 (+6000)

Dream +160 (+6000)

Fever +220 (+8000)

Liberty +290 (+8000)

You can get +370 on Sun No Playoffs

I like Dallas no playoffs -155 but I hate taking any futures bets at those odds.

I am loaded up on the Mystics and Lynx futures.  I got a good number on the Lynx but the Clark injury is hurting the Mystics.  If I bet it now, I think I would go with the Storm -  I don't know why their line went from +175 to +225

Wow Thorpe, I can’t believe the Aces are still so high to win the title. Without Angel, I don’t see that happening. Yes they have Liz and A’ja and Plum comes back but gee they don’t have much of a bench outside of Hamby. That’s crazy.

I do like the Dream this year to make th top 8 at least now they have Hayes, Carter and Courtney Williams all playing together. Great back court and topped off with some good post players as well. For me, the Wings are a very tough team to grasp. New coach and new rookies again. I hope the new coach uses Allisha Gray more this season and tells Arike to share the ball more because although she scores a lot of points, it’s because she takes a lot of shots. Will be interesting to see Collier in the WNBA and how well she gets used within the team. Kuier is a great player but she is stuck overseas because of Visa issues so who knows when she will come. Tough season ahead for Vicki Johnson. 

Also think NY has a shot at top 8 as well if Sabrina can stay fit and link up nicely with Howard. Whitcomb is a nice option off the bench as well and their rookies got a lot of playing time last season which would only add value to their experience. 

@AussieDownUnder

Dallas is a little overrated IMO. Too many rookies in what is a veteran league.  Collier was really mediocre as a college player. I think she will eventually be a good pro but it will take time, and if she plays big minutes this year Dallas will suffer for it.   

I'd be willing to bet 1 of the bottom 4 teams makes the playoffs, but it is hard to say which one.

The line setter for my book (and about 50+ books worldwide) doesn't seem to move lines without someone betting it. So there are really good opportunities when circumstances change because a lot of people don't bet futures.

Las Vegas Aces

So the bad news out of Vegas is that Angel has done her ACL in a preseason match so she will miss the season. Horrible news because she was amazing last season and even though it appeared that Laimbeer held her back some times last season on her mins, she produced a massive 29.1 PER which is just insane. That will surely be missed. 

Their roster is only at 10 players right now, so they will have to apply for the hardship rule. 

Liz Cambage
Aja Wilson
Chelsea Gray
Emma Cannon
Jackie Young
Destiny Slocum (rookie)
Kelsey Plum
Dearica Hamby
Riquna Williams
Ji Su Park

Good roster but can they get it done? I so no. Their issue will be guards. McBride now at Lynx will be a big loss and they are going to have to somehow get Aja and Cambage to play nice together which I don’t think they do. Jackie Young just doesn’t cut it for me and I think she struggles again. Cannon has done ok during the off season overseas but still, that’s a different league compared to the talent of the WNBA. Gray and Williams are nice additions from the Sparks but also, Williams is so hot and cold and Gray is one of those players that might give you 10 points and 5 assists per game but not a true score like Angel is. 

For me they have too many weak points and I doubt they make the top 4. 

Prediction: 5th - 8th 

Agree 100% with you on the Aces.  Jackie Young is looking like a total bust.  Even if Cambage and Wilson can learn to coexist on offense, neither one of them can guard away from the rim, so any big that can shoot will give them problems.

Aces would have been better off losing Cambage or Wilson to injury than McCaughtry IMO

Thanks Oz and Thorpe for you due diligence  Looking forward to a fun season. Where's Joe with the breakdown of the hottest lesbian coach and player? 

@AussieDownUnder

 Thanks for all the posts you do Oz. It really helps me out a lot!

Do you know the best sites for WNBA team stats and trends? I found a few but they aren't as user friendly as I would like.

@SpartanG

 Mate the best site for the WNBA and team stats is www.basketball-reference.com/wnba

The main WNBA is getting a lot better these days with team and player stats as well.

I also use www.sportsdatabase.com as their database goes back to 2011 and looks at certain angles and situations

Atlanta Dream

So 2 weeks ago their head coach decides to leave and coach a college team. Maybe she saw what she saw the last few years and didn’t like where the franchise was headed and wanted a more stable job at Baylor. Either way, the Dream will have to get to know their new coaches quickly. They were really fun to watch last season until Carter got injured. She is back this year and ready to go. This squad is my team this year that can surprise a few IMHO. Bookies not giving them a chance at all but I do believe they can make the playoffs at least

Their roster is

Chennedy Carter
Tiffany Hayes
Cheyenne Parker
Kalani Brown
Monique Billings
Shekinna Stricklen
Courtney Williams
Tianna Hawkins
Aari McDonald (rookie)
Odyssey Sims
Crystal Bradford

That backcourt is going to be fun to watch. Have a few nice post players as well and if they can limit their turnovers, they can do some damage. Obviously the coaching change isn’t ideal so close to the season but if they stay healthy enough, I do think they can compete most nights. Looking at that backcourt thought, it’s going to be a run and gun style team which usually means they will leak points as well as score them. The WNBA is unlike the NBA and these ladies do play defence. Doubt the Dream do though. Exciting team to watch and hopefully they can adjust quickly to the new coaches

Prediction: 5th-8th

New York Liberty

Can Sabrina stay healthy? If she does then they will be so much better than last season. Signed Howard and Whitcomb from Seattle, brought back Bec Allen who played in 2019. They appear to be taking two rookies into this season compared with 7 last. Hopkins should get a lot more wins this season under his belt. 

Current roster

Sabrina Ionescu
Natasha Howard
Sami Whitcomb
Jazmine Jones
Kiah Stokes
Layshia Clarendon
Leaonna Odom
Kylee Shook
Rebecca Allen
Betnijah Laney
Michaela Onyenwere (rookie)
Didi Richards (rookie)

Good experience across that roster and their rookies from last year got a very good taste of WNBA action as they played big mins. Can they deal with the travel now they aren’t playing in a bubble? Time will tell but this is a lot better looking roster than last season. They head into the season though without Howard, Stokes and Allen due to Covid protocols and overseas commitments. Either way, once they get back in will be a decent team. Sabrina should shine this season and now that Nurse and Zahui B have gone, that gives more chances to players like Whitcomb, Allen and Jones. For me though, they just don’t have enough big name players to get them over the line. 

Prediction: 9th-12th

Chicago Sky

Is it the biggest signing of the off-season? Maybe, not too sure. Sky signed Candace Parker to help boost their roster. If Quigley and Vandersloot can not turn the ball over so much this team looks good. Parker also has a tendency to turn the ball over and that’s the worrying factor for me with this team. When they limit that aspect, they are hard to beat. They also back Ndour who for me is a genuinely good player she wasted last season at Dallas. I expect her to be amazing this season. Dolson is always a liability but it appears she has lost a lot of weight during the off season as well so maybe she will be healthier. Either way, I like this team and Wade has a lot to look forward too

Roster

Alie Quigley
Courtney Vandersloot
Kahleah Cooper
Stefanie Dolson
Candace Parker
Azura Stevens
Diamond DeShields
Shyla Heal (rookie)
Astou Ndour-Fall
Ruthy Hebard
Stephanie Watts (rookie)

Shyla Heal is Shane Heal’s daughter. Shane was an outstanding player for Australia and Shyla is only 19 years of age but she absolutely carved up in the recent WNBL season here in Oz. Exciting player with a great shot selection. Gaining experience from Quigs and VDS will only increase her performance and so glad she got on this roster. Watts is another impressive rookie adding that with the experience of the players listed above, I have think this team can push the rest of the leagues big teams. Only issue is see is the turnovers but apart from that, they look good. They have the bench depth, scorers, guards, post players and a good coach IMHO. Recipe for success. 

Prediction 3rd or 4th

Good Stuff Oz, I'm am ready for wnba to be back , even though I haven't done much homework on it this year so far.  You said Griner needs to be more physical with her 6'8", unfortunately, we both know that isn't going to happen.  I with you on ATL too.  I big on Chennedy Carter, and she kept them in a lot of games last.  Was also very low on  nicki collen and Renee Montgomery, so that could be an upgrade there, esp if Hayes is back healthy.

I think the Aces are going to be interesting too.  Not sure if Aja and Liz can work together enough to warrant a title run.  Sucks what happened to Angel.

Season starts tomorrow, lets get this!

Will you post your picks/plays in this thread oz? Or are you gonna make a diff thread?

@AussieDownUnder

@Casey163

Nice to see you again Casey.. I really do like this Dream team and you might be right mate, getting rid of Collen might be exactly what they needed. Carter is exciting to watch and that mixed with the rest of the roster they should be good this season. Not title contenders but a lot better than teams.

I think this season we will see the teams that were poor in the previous seasons do well and some teams like the Sun and Sparks have a little wake up call. Augustus just retired, she will be assistant coach now for the Sparks. 

@OverMachine

Will start a new thread, each day I do that. This is just me going through the rosters and giving out the info I know and what I think the teams will do this season. Obviously anything is possible with injuries and rookies having massive seasons so just like to give my take on what I think it’s going to happen