Minnesota Lynx at Detroit Shock (-4, 157.5)
Maybe President Obama should have offered the Detroit Shock a bailout. However, it’s unlikely the team would have accepted.
Fresh off a visit to the White House on Monday to celebrate their third WNBA title in the past six seasons, Shock players say they have nobody but themselves to blame for a 5-9 start that has been marked by injuries and an inability to finish close games.
There was also a shake-up on the sidelines, with longtime coach Bill Laimbeer leaving the bench and leaving the job to fellow former Bad Boy Rick Mahorn.
“The struggles we had at the beginning of the season have been on us, really,” Deanna Nolan said. “I think we’ve been beating ourselves. We have to play for 40 minutes. We just weren't closing out games. We were making mistakes, defensive errors. It’s those things we have to re-tune.”
The Shock have played three overtime games in July, losing three of them. A key defensive stop, clutch rebound or timely basket here and there could have changed the outcomes and the outlook of the season. Detroit lost 98-95 at home to the Atlanta Dream.
Detroit faces a Minnesota (10-8) team that started hot, but has lost five of its past seven. The Shock are the league’s best rebounding team at 36.2 per, while Minnesota is 10th in 13-team league at 31.3.
This game appears to present Detroit with an excellent opportunity to start the second half of the season on a positive note.
Pick: Detroit
