WNBA Best Bets: 2 Picks to Target Monday Night

The sprint to the playoffs in the WNBA is on, and Chicago is one of the teams that hears the clock ticking.

But the Sky hit the road for three games this week and two are against the only team in the league eliminated from the postseason, Seattle.

We are looking at the best angles for Monday's WNBA slate.

Chicago Sky at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ET

With 12 games left, the Chicago Sky is still in the playoff picture. But time is running out.

The Sky can make a run starting Monday with a visit to last-place Seattle, where they'll play again on Sunday with a visit to Golden State in between.

The Storm (6-28) are the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. When they fell 100-93 at the expansion Portland Fire on Saturday, it marked their second 11-game losing streak of the season.

No doubt, Chicago (12-20) has work to do. The Sky sits seven games out of the eighth and final playoff spot, with two teams in between the Sky and New York Liberty. But the Sky are playing their best basketball following a 4-12 start. They’ve won five of nine, and each of the four losses in that stretch was by five points or fewer.

Bettors appear split on this one. The total started at 180.5 and there are some books listing Chicago as the favorite on the road. Read into this what you will.

Chicago is not a sure thing. Saturday brought the latest disappointment. The Sky trailed by as many as 17 but made a late charge before falling 90-86 to the visiting Indiana Fever.

The game was marred by multiple technical and flagrant fouls. Chicago’s DiJonai Carrington delivered a hard foul across the face and neck of Sophie Cunningham, deemed “unnecessary and excessive” by the refs as they upgraded the flagrant-1 to a flagrant-2 and automatic ejection.

Undrafted rookie Sydney Taylor leads the Sky at 14.7 ppg but will miss her third straight game with a groin injury.

Sky +1.5 (-115 at FanDuel), over 177.5 total points (-150, FanDuel)

Toronto Tempo at Atlanta Dream, 8 p.m. ET

Atlanta has won three games from Toronto this season and can complete a season sweep on Monday in Georgia.

Atlanta (19-12), which has dropped two of three following a five-game winning streak, sits a half-game back of the East-leading Indiana Fever and is in fifth place overall. The Dream will have an opportunity to take advantage of consecutive games against conference bottom-feeders this week with matchups against 20-loss teams in Toronto (10-21) and the Connecticut Sun (8-23).

The wagering side of the game might come down to confidence in Atlanta covering the full 14.5 points as a home favorite or dialing back the risk to take the winner on the moneyline.

Allisha Gray’s 19.1 ppg pace the Dream, who have beaten the Tempo by an average margin of 17 points in the first three meetings. Gray had 26 points Friday at Washington, her second in a row with 20-plus.

Toronto is in the midst of an eight-game losing streak -- the club’s longest in its debut season. All but one of those games were decided by double digits, while the struggling Tempo have allowed at least 92 points in seven consecutive outings.

Atlanta -14.5 (-120 at FanDuel)