Thursday’s six-game slate will officially close the door on the 2024 WNBA regular season.
Surprisingly, three teams, the Washington Mystics, Chicago Sky, and Atlanta Dream, are still in contention to secure the final playoff slot.
If the Dream win, they punch their ticket to the postseason.
However, it won’t be that easy, as the Dream face the New York Liberty tonight. Of course, New York might decide to rest its star players for a good portion of the game since it has locked up the top seed.
On the other hand, Washington can only make the postseason by winning its final game and then hoping the Sky win and the Dream lose since it has the tie-breaker over Chicago.
Chicago would also be able to lock down the No. 8 seed with a win on Thursday, in addition to Washington and Atlanta losing.
Two WNBA player props stand out to us for the games on Thursday, including Ariel Atkins hitting at least three 3-pointers and Tina Charles recording a double-double. Find our analysis for these picks below!
WNBA Player Props for Thursday, September 19
The Mystics host the Fever in a game they must win to sneak into the postseason. It is still a long shot since the injury-riddled Sky have to win and the Dream have to lose, but there is a chance.
Ariel Atkins is undoubtedly a player to watch in this game against the Fever, who have nothing at stake in this game and already don’t defend the 3-point line well.
Indiana has allowed its past five opponents to shoot 38.8% from behind the arc on the second-most 3-point attempts in the W, an unsustainable number if it wants to make a run in the playoffs.
That means “bombs away” for Atkins, who has attempted 9 and 10 3-point attempts in her past two games.
At plus-money, this is an attractive bet for something Atkins has done in each of her past two games and six of her past 12.
Pick: Ariel Atkins To Record 3+ Made 3s (+154) – FanDuel
Like Indiana, the Liberty have nothing to play for at this point except for wanting to enter the postseason with a win in their final regular-season game.
However, Atlanta has much to play for in this bout, including veteran center Tina Charles, who has been on a tear lately.
Charles has double-doubles in 11 of her past 13 games, averaging roughly 18 points and 12 rebounds in that stretch.
We are getting a great price on this prop due to the Liberty’s stout defense this season, particularly on the interior.
New York has held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage inside five feet and the third-lowest percentage between five and nine feet, where Charles does most of her work.
The Liberty also rank first in rebounding percentage in the W, which would typically make Charles’ path to a double-double a bit less certain, but not in this case.
Don’t expect to see New York’s star players as much as usual because the Liberty already have the top seed locked up and will not want to risk injury to “Stewie,” Ionescu, or Jones. This should result in a field day for Charles.
Pick: Tina Charles To Record Double-Double (-190) – FanDuel
