In a season that’s been miserable from the start for the Seattle Storm, this might be rock bottom as they bring a 10-game losing streak into tonight’s matchup with the Chicago Sky.
At 4-19, the Storm’s last win came on June 24, and five of their past eight losses have been by a double-digit margin. Seattle showed more fight on Tuesday before blowing a big lead in an 86-82 defeat to the New York Liberty.
The Sky are dealing with their own poor form, dropping five of their last six contests, including a predictable loss to the Las Vegas Aces earlier this week. Chicago’s one win over that stretch came via a 90-75 beatdown against this hapless Storm last week.
Take a closer look at tonight’s showdown with our free Storm vs. Sky WNBA picks and predictions on Friday, July 28.
Storm vs Sky best odds
Storm vs Sky picks and predictions
Very little has gone to plan for Seattle this year, but it’s hard to find fault with Jewell Loyd’s performances. Third in the league in minutes per game, Loyd has carried an enormous burden — and I expect the Storm to ride their best scorer again here.
In part due to a lack of other offensive options, Loyd tops the WNBA charts in a bunch of categories, including points, field goal attempts, and free throw attempts per game. The efficiency comes and goes (38% from the field in 2023), but Loyd is a bucket-getter.
After a couple of dud outings, she bounced back in midweek with 32 points against the Liberty, knocking down six triples and going a perfect 11-for-11 at the line. It was hardly her most lights-out shooting night (9-for-23) but that kind of volume is going to be there as the Storm try to find their way out of their current slump.
The Sky did a solid job of subduing Loyd in the teams’ clash last week, holding the Seattle guard to just 12 points, as she missed nine of her 11 shots. But the Storm are in desperation mode and I see the visitors leaning into a game plan that puts the ball in Loyd’s hands early and often for 20+ FG attempts.
Loyd may get close to the full 40 minutes again tonight and that pushes the door wide open for this points prop. I’m taking the Over.
My best bet: Jewell Loyd Over 24.5 points (-115 at bet365)
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Storm vs Sky spread and Over/Under analysis
The Sky are still searching for consistent form, but the Storm have reached another level of ineptitude with their ugly skid. That makes Chicago good value as a 5-point favorite tonight, though Seattle is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 visits to the Windy City.
If you’re picking the hosts, it’s likely due to the brilliance of Kahleah Copper, who’s almost as central to the Chicago offense as Loyd is for Seattle. Copper tied her career high with 29 points against the Storm in last week’s win, then blew past it with 37 points against the Aces on Tuesday. The Sky are 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings against Western Conference opponents, but they’re 4-8 overall at home this year.
A line of 161.5 feels about right for the Over/Under here, and these teams scraped past that number in last week’s matchup. Though the Storm are allowing the most points per game in the league this season (86.2), the offensive firepower is wildly erratic for both these teams. Barring a shootout between Loyd and Copper, the Under feels like the safer play.
The Sky have reached the 90-point mark in their past two games but have also been held under 70 points twice this month. The secondary scoring will be key, with Marina Mabrey averaging 14.5 points a game alongside Copper in the Chicago backcourt, and Ezi Magbegor (13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds) standing out as a threat in the paint for the Storm.
Storm vs Sky betting trend to know
The Under is 4-1 over the past five games for both sides. Find more WNBA betting trends for Storm vs. Sky.
Storm vs Sky game info
Location: | Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL |
Date: | Friday, July 28, 2023 |
Tip-off: | 8:00 p.m. ET |
TV: | ION |
Storm vs Sky key injuries
Storm: Jordan Horston F (Questionable).
Sky: Rebekah Gardner G (Out), Isabelle Harrison F (Out).
Find our latest WNBA injury reports.