Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Los Angeles Sparks vs Minnesota Lynx: The Lynx have been dominating the Sparks in recent years

The Minnesota Lynx will look for their third straight win when they host the Los Angeles Sparks at Target Center on Friday.

The Sparks need to pick up their pace

The Los Angeles Sparks are fifth in the Western Conference with a 4-8 record. After winning back-to-back games against the Dallas Wings and the Las Vegas Aces, the Sparks lost 95-79 to the Seattle Storm. Los Angeles is the worst free throw shooting team in the league with 75.6% and is ranked tenth, scoring 78 points per game. Dearica Hamby is the best player on the team, averaging 20 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

The Lynx have a promising season

The Minnesota Lynx are on top of the Western Conference with a 9-3 record. They won the last two games and are coming off a 100-86 road win over the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces. The Lynx are the best shooting team in the league, with 46.2% shooting from the field and 41.8% from three-point territory. Napheesa Collier is the best player on the team, averaging 10.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

Betting Trends

The Sparks are 12-4 ATS in the last 16 games played on Friday, 7-3 ATS in the last 10 games against teams with a winning record, and 0-3-1 ATS in the last 4 games played after a two-day rest. They have played under the total point line in the last 4 games coming after a two-day rest, 4 of the last 5 games overall, 6 of the last 8 games played on Friday, 9 of the last 13 games coming off an ATS loss, and 13 of the last 19 games against a team with a winning record. The Lynx are 10-2 ATS in the last 12 games overall, 5-1 ATS in the last 6 games overall, 7-2 ATS in the last 9 games following an ATS win, and 7-3 ATS in the last 10 games played on Friday. They have played over the total point line in 9 of the last 12 home games, 12 of the last 16 games following an ATS win, and 5 of the last 6 games played on Friday.

Prediction and Conclusion

After having a poor start to the season, the Los Angeles Sparks have picked up their game, but they are going to a place they have won only once in the last three visits. The Minnesota Lynx are having a promising season, and they are coming off an impressive performance in Vegas. Minnesota has won nine of their last 10 games against the Sparks and will add another one tonight, but the given spread of -13.5-points is a little too high, so we are going with the Sparks to keep the game close and cover the spread.