WNBA Season Kicks Off

The WNBA season begins with three games on Saturday and there will be four more on Sunday. The featured game on Saturday is the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Seattle Storm. The Sparks will recognize last year’s championship team before the game. But bettors haven’t fallen into the Sparks’ camp on this one. Los Angeles opened as 7.5-point are now down to 6.5. The total has shot up to 152 after opening at 146.5. Apparently the oddsmakers thought bettors would be impressed by L.A.’s defense, which hasn’t been the case. The fact the game is being broadcast by ESPN at 5 p.m. EST also has something to do with that fact. Bettors love taking overs and this could be another example of that.

League runner-up, Minnesota, will play its first game on Sunday against Chicago in what could be an entertaining game. Chicago can score, but had defensive problems last year, while the Lynx can score, but play defense.

Not all of the team will be at full strength this weekend. San Antonio will be without last year’s leading scorer Kayla McBride and Kelsey Plum, the first player taken in the 2017 WNBA Draft. The team couldn’t score last year and that could be a problem against this weekend.

The WNBA plays a 34-game schedule, with 17 homes games and 17 on the road. Teams typically do not play back-to-back games that often, but it does happen. There will be two teams, San Antonio and Seattle, playing both Saturday and Sunday.

Many of the players also play in Europe because the WNBA season is so short. Money has something to do with the decision, as well as the fact that players have many months of idle time if all they did was play in the WNBA.

While not nearly as popular as their male counterparts, nearly every sportsbook carries lines on WNBA games.