Best WNBA Player Props Today: Sykes Works Magic for Mystics

Washington Capital

The Mystics have slowly been getting healthy after a long summer of injury issues. But Washington will be without many of those stars again Sunday.

Elena Delle Donne was limited to just 11 minutes in her return Friday and will sit out this run-in with the Wings with tightness in her ailing hip. Center Shakira Austin is also sitting out for rest reasons after playing in two games back since missing 16 contests earlier this summer.

That once again leaves the scoring duties to the Mystics’ other starters, namely guard Brittney Sykes. She’s posted back-to-back 30-point efforts and her scoring prop for Sunday is all over the place as some books are slow to adjust to Washington’s missing pieces.

Sykes' point total ranges from 16.5 (Over -115) to as high as 21.5 (Over -105). Player projections run as high as 20.6 points, with an even higher ceiling considering she’ll draw the bulk of field goal attempts for a shorthanded D.C. lineup on Sunday.

Sykes took over the primary scoring duties with EDD and other starters out for the majority of July and August, averaging 20 points per game since July 1. Even with those bodies back and working on minute restrictions, Sykes' output hasn't dipped. She’s a collective 22-for-37 from the floor the past two games, totaling 60 points in those outings.

Brittney Sykes prop: Over 16.5 points (-115 at BetRivers)

Confide in McBride

The Lynx take on the Storm in a home-and-home finale Sunday, coming off a 78-70 victory in Seattle on Friday.

Minnesota guard Kayla McBride finished the win with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting and is forecasted for another strong showing against one of the worst defenses in the WNBA.

Player projections range from 14.9 to as many as 17.3 points from McBride, who is averaging just over 13 points per game on the season. The veteran guard has picked up her scoring pace in recent outings, however, averaging 16.6 points on almost 53% shooting — attempting 11.1 shots an outing over those eight games.

Her scoring total for Sunday sits as low as 12.5 points (Over -139) with highs of 13.5 (Over -120).

Given her projections (my number sits at 15.5 points) and the fact Seattle allows 86.8 points per road game — 53 of those tallies to opposing guards — the Over 12.5 points from McBride should be priced in the -200 range, and the Over 13.5 should sit at -152.

She loves playing against Seattle, posting point totals of 21, 19, and 18 points in her three previous matchups with the Storm this season.

Kayla McBride prop: Over 12.5 points (-139 at BetRivers)

Fighting Fever

Indiana is a rare favorite — and an even rarer road favorite — in Phoenix today.

The Mercury will be missing star center Brittney Griner, leaving a big hole in the middle of Phoenix’s interior, which sees a dip of -7.9 percentage points in the team’s rebound rate when BG is out of action.

That bodes well for Fever rookie center Aaliyah Boston to battle on the boards with a smaller Mercury lineup.

Boston faces a Phoenix team ranked out among the worst in rebounding even with Griner, sitting 11th in rebound rate and giving up more than 34 boards per game to opponents. The former South Carolina star has blasted through the rookie wall this month after a downtick in production in July.

So far in August, Boston is scoring 16.6 points and snatching 10 rebounds over her last seven appearances. Boston’s rebound prop for Sunday’s road stop in the desert is set at 9.5, with the Over as low as EVEN money at some books. Other shops have since moved as high as -125.

Player projections sit just north of 10 boards for Boston, with a higher potential given Griner is out due to a non-COVID illness.

Boston pulled down 11 rebounds in 33 minutes against the Mercury on August 1 without BG protecting the paint. However, in the other two meetings with Phoenix, Boston struggled to stay out of foul trouble and was limited in floor time with the 6-foot-9 Griner inside.

Aaliyah Boston prop: Over 9.5 rebounds (+100 at bet365)