Dallas Wings vs Chicago Sky Prediction, Picks, and Odds: Wings Get Off to Flying Start

The Dallas Wings blow into the Windy City looking for their third straight victory to start the 2023 WNBA season, facing the Chicago Sky on Sunday night.

The Wings were pegged for big things this year after a busy offseason. Dallas beefed up its defense and added depth through the draft, putting solid pieces around electric scorer Arike Ogunbowale.

Ogunbowale, who leads the league in scoring after two games, faces a Chicago defense that ranks second in advanced rating in the WNBA to start the season.

I run down the point spread and Over/Under for Sunday’s showdown, and give my best WNBA picks and predictions for Wings vs Sky on May 28.

Wings vs Sky best odds

Wings vs Sky picks and predictions

The Dallas Wings have come out swinging in their first two games of the 2023 season.

The Wings opened the schedule with a 47-point first half versus Atlanta, and posted 52 points in the first two frames versus Seattle. What happened in the second half of those contests made Dallas backers squeamish, as the Wings were outscored by a combined tally of 98-78.

Dallas owns a first-half net rating of 33.1 — tops in the league through two games — versus a second-half metric of -20.2, which is second worst in the WNBA.

The Chicago Sky don’t have the same offensive engine as the Wings, and have been slow out of the blocks to start games so far in 2023. The Sky are averaging less than 40 points over the opening 20 minutes of their first three outings, and enter Sunday with injury concerns.

They were already dealing with the absence of starting forward Isabelle Harrison, but will now be without Morgan Bertsch, who has stepped into the first five in place of Harrison. Also out of action this weekend is top reserve guard Rebekah Gardner, who logs major minutes for Chicago.

The Sky are quite thin today, and are taking on a Wings team that will test their motor with one of the most up-tempo attacks in the league. That will especially true in the first half, before the Wings' wheels get wobbly.

My ratings have this game closer to Chicago -1 versus an opening line of -3.5 and an early move to -2. Given my concern about Dallas’ second-half focus on the road and the Sky’s solid defense, I’m going to pass on the final 20 minutes and take the Wings to win the first half on the derivative moneyline.

My best bet: Wings 1H moneyline (+105 at PointsBet)

Wings vs Sky spread and Over/Under analysis

The opening WNBA odds had Chicago listed as 3.5-point home favorites for this Sunday contest, but early movement trimmed that spread to as low as -2 on Sunday morning.

The Sky are 2-1 SU and a perfect 3-0 ATS to start the 2023 season, losing their last game to Washington but managing to cover as 4.5-point home underdogs Thursday. Chicago opened with a pair of road games in Minnesota and Phoenix, in which it spoiled Brittney Griner’s homecoming.

The Sky do have some notable injuries for this matchup with the Wings. Key reserves Rebekah Gardner (7.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Morgan Bertsch (5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) are out due to injuries. The team will remain without starting forward Isabelle Harrison after she underwent knee surgery following an injury suffered in the preseason.

Dallas enters this road date with a 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS record, but hasn’t been truly tested as those wins came against Atlanta and Seattle — two teams at the bottom of most rankings. The Wings nearly blew a 17-point lead in Seattle on Friday, allowing 27 to the Storm in the fourth quarter for a 95-91 win to ruin the ATS payday for Dallas -4.5 bettors.

The Wings are still playing without standout forward Diamond DeShields as she recovers from a knee injury, and could be once again without starting center Teaira McCowan for Sunday. McCown is a game-time decision with a knee injury suffered in the season opener, and her absence is a hit to a thinning Dallas frontcourt.

The total for this game hit the board at 162.5 points, which isn’t too far from the previous numbers set for these teams. We’ve seen very different Over/Under results from them, though.

The Wings have gone Over in their two contests so far, posting efforts of 85 and 95 points, respectively, while playing at a pace rating of 102.9 — second fastest in the WNBA. However, it should be noted those high-scoring results came against two of the weaker teams in the league.

Chicago sits No. 2 in defensive rating, No. 9 in pace, and has stayed below the total in all three games so far this season. The Sky allow a league-low 68.7 points against while locking down foes to 36.8% shooting from the field.

That said, Chicago did face similarly-paced opponents in Minnesota, Phoenix, and Washington. The Wings will be a major shift up in gears. 

Wings vs Sky betting trend to know

The Wings are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road games going back to last season. Find more WNBA betting trends for Wings vs. Sky.

Wings vs Sky game info

Wings vs Sky key injuries

Wings: T. McCowan C (Ques), D. DeShields G (Out), L. Lopez Senechal G (Out). 

Sky: R. Gardner G (Ques), M. Bertsch F (Ques), S. Kone F (Ques).

Find our latest WNBA injury reports.

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