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Houston Comets vs. Atlanta Dream The Houston Comets understand the plight of the struggling Atlanta Dream because they were in the same position last season. The Comets, though, have no intention of showing any sympathy for the winless expansion club. The Comets look to extend the Dream's winless start to 10 games - the same mark Houston reached in 2007 - as the teams square off at Reliant Arena on Monday night.
The five-time All-Star will try to continue her strong play against an Atlanta club which has struggled defensively. Opponents are averaging 84.6 points and shooting 46.5 percent from the field against the Dream, second-worst and worst in the league, respectively. However, Dream coach Marynell Meadors is encouraged by her team's play in its last two defeats. Atlanta led by 12 points in the fourth quarter of an 81-77 loss to New York on Wednesday night and made a late rally before falling short in a 76-67 loss to Indiana on Friday night. "We don't even look at the record," Meadors said. "We look at the next opponent. We're just trying to find the right chemistry, and I think I've found a pretty good lineup the last two games. "We're (four) and nine points away from a win and somehow we have to figure out a way to do that." Betting Analysis & PredictionLine suggest us to think that Comets will continue Dream trend to allow opponents to score more than 80 points. But I think that today we will have a bit different story. If you'll take closer look at Atlanta opponents you will find that most of them were offensive teams (Connecticut, Minnesota) or teams with long benches (Detroit, New York). Games with Chicago ended with 158 and 161 points total but it happened only because of 56 points performance in final quarter. But Atlanta struggled to score points with more defensive minded teams like Indiana and Los Angeles Sparks. Today they will play in Houston where Comets are 2-1 and until now managed to score over 75 points only once in 9 games. Houston don't have long bench, they have good starting five but they are not offensive minded team. They best games usually comes from defense and I think that today they have all chances to hold Dream under 70 points. And hardly see them scoring 83 and more points because it's not their style to play offensive basketball. My personal line is 8-10 points under the line because I expect to see Atlanta scoring in the 65-72 pts range while Comets should use Atlanta weakness in defense and score in the 76-82 points. So I would set 79-68 here and expect to see game with total around 145-152 points. Predicted score: Comets 78 - 67 Atlanta Pick: Under 154.5 @ 1.87 PinnacleSports  VS.
Seattle Storm vs. Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun and the Seattle Storm entered Friday night's games as two of the WNBA's top teams. Neither club, however, looked like it belonged among the league's elite during a frustrating weekend.The Sun look to rebound from their first loss in six games on Monday night when they visit the Storm, who hope a return home can help them bounce back from consecutive defeats.Connecticut (8-2) dominated early this season, winning eight of its first nine games, including its first three by double figures. The Sun, though, had a five-game winning streak snapped with a 98-93 overtime loss to Los Angeles on Friday night. But poor defense plagued Connecticut as it gave up its highest point total since a 111-109 overtime loss in Phoenix on July 6 of last season. Besides letting the Sparks shoot 50 percent from the field, the Sun allowed 29 points in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 14 in the period en route to their first loss since May 27. Thibault's club hopes to rebound against a Seattle team that was 7-3 before losing twice over the weekend. One night after the Storm (7-5) fell 74-69 at San Antonio, reigning league MVP Lauren Jackson was their only starter in double figures with 18 points in a 68-60 loss to Houston on Saturday. Seattle has been much more effective at KeyArena, where it's undefeated with a league-leading six wins for the longest undefeated home start in franchise history.The Storm hope Yolanda Griffith can return to the lineup as they try to protect their unblemished record at home. The 10th-year center, in her first season with Seattle, missed her first game of the season Saturday because of left knee and ankle injuries. She's questionable for Monday.Seattle has lost four straight games against Connecticut dating to a 95-86 home win on May 22, 2005. Betting Analysis & PredictionI think that this game is very hard to predict and to choose a bet. Both teams are amongst top teams with experienced players. As for me a lot here will depend on teams defensive approach. If Seattle will find a way to avoid running and shooting basketball like Connecticut Sun likes than they will have better chances to cover handicap and hit another under at home (Seattle is 0-5-1 on Over/under this season at home). If Connecticut will force hosts to play in their tempo I still rate Seattle winning chances a little bit better but in this scenario handicap outcome is unpredictable. Because statistically Connecticut is a team which scores 75 points in every game and I think that 74-80 points is range where Connecticut Sun can score in away matches. If Seattle wants to win game by playing Connecticut-style basketball they should find a way to score over 80 points like they did against Phoenix when won 83-77. A lot will depend on game tempo here and Seattle offensive production. As for me 150 points total looks more fair than 147.5 because so far Connecticut managed to score 74 points in every game except one and if we add Seattle 2.5-3 points for their home factor than we will get 77-74 points line which I personally hold more correct for this matchup. For me low stake bet on over 147.5 worth a shot. Predicted score: Seattle 77 - 74 Connecticut Pick: Over 147.5 @ 1.95 PinnacleSports
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