WNBA Betting Picks: Best Bets for Monday, August 24th

Three of the four WNBA teams in action Monday night also will be part of the league’s playoff field when the postseason tips off on Sept. 27.

One of them, the Minnesota Lynx, could clinch the No. 1 seed as soon as tonight’s home game against the Golden State Valkyries.

While Golden State currently occupies the second seed, merely three games separated the Nos. 2-6 teams in the “W” entering Monday.

Let’s get into the betting picks for tonight’s games. Odds are via FanDuel.

GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES AT MINNESOTA LYNX

League-leading Minnesota has won six straight on the heels of rattling off 10 wins in 11 games.

Among the triumphs during the latest tear: Wednesday’s 77-66 road win against the Valkyries.

The Lynx have been especially potent with Napheesa Collier back in the fold. She returned to the mix on July 22 following recovery from offseason surgery on both ankles and is averaging 19 points an1 7.4 rebounds per game to complement rookie phenom Olivia Miles (20 points, 6.2 assists).

While Minnesota will be minus Courtney Williams (right foot), who was injured at Washington on Friday, expect the hosts to have enough to earn the top seed.

The Lynx are 3-0 against the Valkyries this season.

Minnesota -4.5 (-115)

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase confirmed Friday that leading scorer Gabby Williams played just 14 minutes of Friday’s narrow loss at Chicago not because of an injury, but rather the need for “fresh legs.”

Williams had just two points against the Sky, both from the free throw line, after scoring in double figures in eight straight. She contributed 10 points to the home loss to the Lynx but went just 4-for-15 from the field.

A bounce-back effort comes here, with Williams channeling her own urgency against motivated Minnesota.

Gabby Williams 15+ points (+114)

ATLANTA DREAM AT LOS ANGELES SPARKS

“A” is for “August.”

And “Angel,” also.

Dream forward Angel Reese has registered a double-double in each of her team’s nine games this month and 11 in a row overall, helping Atlanta clinch a playoff berth in her first season with the team.

The run includes a 20-point, 10-rebound effort at the same SoCal venue in which she’ll face the Sparks tonight. The Dream cruised 124-88 on Thursday to eliminate LA from WNBA playoff contention.

Reese opened Atlanta’s four-game Western road trip with 21 points and 10 boards on Tuesday and contributed a career-high 31 points to go with 14 rebounds at Phoenix Saturday. The Dream have won each of the first three games of the trip by double digits and should keep rolling here behind the usual effort of their third-leading scorer and top rebounder.

“We came on this West Coast trip and wanted to go 4-0 and obviously we have one more to take care of,” Reese said. “(We are) setting the tone for what the playoffs are going to look like for our team.”

Angel Reese 15+ points and 12+ rebounds as part of two-leg parlay (-115)