Game 1 of the WNBA Finals went just about how the Connecticut Sun imagined in their wildest dreams. It was an extremely physical, low-scoring basketball game tailor-made for their style of play.
Yet, the Aces came away with the victory despite the flow of the game. As Connecticut tries to even up the series, it’ll need to follow a similar script. Only, this time, it would be great for Curt Miller if his players made a few more shots.
Vegas (-4.5) could also use some better luck with shotmaking. It was mainly just A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and a little bit of Jackie Young doing the job in Game 2.
Who could possibly step up on Tuesday night and provide a needed scoring boost for either squad? We turn to the player props.
Kelsey Plum - Under 19.5 Points (-130)
Kelsey Plum is in a serious shooting slump. The 2022 All-Star Game starter has made just six of her last 33 threes over the last five games and is shooting only 35.1 percent from the field.
After averaging over 20.0 per game during the regular season on 46.0/42.0/83.9 shooting splits, one would imagine this rare slump will end soon. There’s a chance she shoots her way out of it tonight, but not in a way that leads to 20 or more points.
Scoring is just going to be too hard to come by in this series. Take the Under.
DeWanna Bonner - Over 14.5 Points (-146)
Another player due for a big game is DeWanna. She isn’t in any wild shooting slump, but her 1-for-9, three-point Game 1 performance was quite unlike her.
Before the Game 1 stinker, she’d averaged 17.3 points over the final three games of the semifinal matchup with the Chicago Sky, which directly followed a Game 2 stinker of 2 points on 0-for-6 shooting.
Bonner typically responds well after bad games, and with the stakes high on Tuesday night, she likely won’t disappoint.
Alyssa Thomas - Over 14.5 Points (+102)
AT is the engine that makes the Connecticut Sun go; there’s no doubt about it. They’ll need to really go on Tuesday night to avoid the dreaded 0-2 hole. It’ll likely start with Thomas’ defense, which will fuel transition opportunities. Then, toss in some offensive rebounds and her usually bullying to the rim in the halfcourt and what you’ll end up with is Alyssa Thomas scoring 15 or more points.
Bet on it.