The Atlanta Dream return home Tuesday night to play the Golden State Valkyries at Gateway Center Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET. This is the second meeting this month, with Atlanta winning the first matchup 90-81 on July 7.
Atlanta comes in with a 15-10 record and sits in second place in the Eastern Conference. Golden State is 11-13 in its first WNBA season. The Dream are 8-3 at home, while the Valkyries are just 3-9 on the road.
Dream Preview – Back at Home After Big Road Wins
Atlanta is coming off a strong road trip, ending with wins over Phoenix and Minnesota. The 90-86 win over the Lynx was one of their best of the season. Head coach Karl Smesko says the team gained confidence by beating top competition away from home.
Allisha Gray leads the team with 18.7 points per game. Rhyne Howard, the team’s second-leading scorer, is still out with a knee injury. In her absence, players like Jordin Canada and Brittney Griner have stepped up in recent games.
The Dream rank fourth in the league in scoring at 79 points per game. They shoot 43% from the field and average 9.3 threes made per game, which is third-best in the WNBA. On defense, they allow just 79 points per game, which ranks fourth-best in the league.
Valkyries Preview – Trying to Regroup After Blowout Loss
Golden State enters this game after a 95-64 loss to Connecticut. The Valkyries turned the ball over 24 times and were never in the game. They have lost six of their last eight overall and are struggling without leading scorer Kayla Thornton.
Thornton is out for the season with a knee injury. She was averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds. In her place, Tiffany Hayes will need to produce more, though she went 0-for-8 from the field in the last game.
Golden State ranks 10th in scoring at 78.8 points per game and 13th in field goal percentage at 40%. They do shoot the most threes in the league but only hit 30.7% of them. The Valkyries are also one of the worst teams in turnovers and rebounding margin.
Betting Prediction
Atlanta is 14-11 against the spread this season and 8-3 straight up at home. Golden State is just 3-9 on the road and 0-1 against the Dream this season. The Dream covered the spread in the last meeting as 7.5-point favorites.
Without Kayla Thornton, the Valkyries are having trouble finding offense. Atlanta has played well at both ends, even with Howard out. With better depth and recent momentum, the Dream should control this game. Expect a double-digit win for Atlanta.
Pick: Atlanta -9.5
