Chicago at Los Angeles

Chicago is a dog but playing great, winning 11 of 15 games. They lost Game 1 of this series but this is a strong team, tops in the WNBA in points scored (86.2 points per game), and fourth in rebounds, led by playmaker Courtney Vandersloot. Against the Dream in the last round, Vandersloot put up 21 points and 13 assists in a terrific performance, racing around defenders. Chicago had a bad second quarter in Game 1 and never recovered, but they matchup well under the glass with an L.A. Sparks squad that finished sixth in the league in defensive rebounding rate. Chicago has a host of athletic players under the boards in Jessica Breland, Imani Boyette and Tamera Young. Chicago is also on a 10-5-1 spread run. Even in Game 1 they beat Los Angeles on the offensive glass and lost the overall rebounding battle by just three. The Sparks have been a money-burner since a hot first half, on a 4-11 ATS run. Look for a big bounce back effort by the talented visitors with so much at stake. Play Chicago.