It’s Thursday in the WNBA and there are two ways the night could end. Either the Connecticut Sun will protect their home court and force another game, or the Las Vegas Aces will be crowned as 2022 WNBA champions.
Bettors are preparing for the latter to happen.
But gamblers don’t decide the outcomes of games; players do. And in Game 3, a number of those players will have the opportunity to rise to the occasion in one way or the other.
Which one’s will leave their mark on Thursday night? We take a look at a few player props, as well as other bets to make ahead of Game 3.
First Basket - Jonquel Jones (+600)
This is truly a dart throw. How do we actually figure out who is going to not only get the first shot, but who is also going to make it?
All we can do is project, and my projection is the Sun win the tip and try to establish their physicality inside by letting Jonquel Jones get a touch in the post. She’ll put it up and in to get the Mohegan Sun Arena fans something to cheer about early.
To Score 25+ Points - A'ja Wilson (+114)
This is a fun little game to play — guessing who will get to 25 points.
I like A’ja Wilson to get there. She’s been a nightmare matchup for the Sun, who on paper have the ideal bodies to contain her decently. I’d expect the physicality to pick up and for the whistle to be a bit unfriendlier on the road. But it won’t matter.
Wilson’s last five games have been that of an MVP, and I think she gives us another banger on Thursday night.
My prediction — 25 & 10 on the way.
Alyssa Thomas - Over 5.5 Assists (-113)
So, Alyssa Thomas had an average Game 2. But to be fair, so did a lot of her teammates.
And when it comes to AT, it’s wise not to expect the mediocre games to pile up. Because even when she isn’t scoring much, she’s doing other things to impact the game. Things like defending, rebounding and passing.
She took a break from those on Tuesday but will almost undoubtedly be back to her usual self in front of the home crowd. Thomas is averaging over 5.0 assists per game in the postseason and I think she gets to six in Game 3.
Points Total - Under 159.5 (-110)
This just hasn’t been one of those high-scoring series. The Sun play a slower and more traditional brand of basketball on offense, while really forcing their opponent to execute in the halfcourt on the other end.
So far, those two things have remained true, but Connecticut hasn’t been able to take advantage of the preferred style.
Even with Kelsey Plum finding her offense for the Aces in Game 2 to help them score 85 points, the Sun’s less-than-spectacular display of shotmaking kept the score low and the combined total under 160 for the second-straight game. It’ll happen again at Mohegan Sun Arena.
