WNBA All-Star Game Best Bets for July 19: The Total Is Too High

Team Collier’s Superior Perimeter Defense

Folks think primarily of scoring in All-Star Games, but we can’t simply be interested in an “over” because it’s an All-Star Game.

With the very high total that they’ve posted for this game, oddsmakers already account for the fact that players will expend less effort on defense.

While they won’t try hard to defend as well, different players require less effort in order to defend better than other players. It will still, in other words, matter that there are good defenders. What will be decisive for this game is the superior quality of Team Collier’s perimeter defense.

Why Team Collier’s Defense Matters

It is decisively important to assess the quality of Team Collier’s perimeter defense because Team Clark, as foresaw by its captain, three-point specialist Caitlin Clark, is constructed to emphasize three-point shooting.

Of course, Clark is sidelined for this game, so her absence will deal a blow to her offense’s chances to shoot threes as well as to the level of chemistry that her Indiana Fever teammates could have enjoyed together and to the overall outlook for the Team Clark offense.

With the likes of Sabrina Ionescu, Team Clark is still going to need to win by having the upper hand over Team Collier’s perimeter defense.

Team Clark Will Not Shoot Well

Unfortunately for Team Clark, Team Collier has elite interior defenders in the form of women like Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner and reigning Defensive Player of the Year selection Napheesa Collier and five-time All-Defensive Team selection Breanna Stewart.

Both players, while ably guarding multiple positions, do a great job of limiting opposing scoring efficiency nearest the basket.

With such players behind them, Team Collier’s perimeter defenders can afford to guard the perimeter more aggressively because their team won’t be punished scoring-wise if their opposing ball-handler blows by them.

Skylar Diggins is well-known for the manifest pride that she takes in defense, which is evident in her on-ball pressure with which she pesters opposing ball-handlers even well behind the arc.

Lynx Players Boost Team Collier’s Defense

Team Collier teammate Courtney Williams is, along with Collier, part of Minnesota’s top-ranked defense. Williams, as a perimeter defender, already has a strong track record against Team Clark’s top shooting threat, Ionescu.

Last season, Ionescu finished the WNBA Finals against Minnesota by going 1-for-15 from behind the arc in the last two games of that series. Collier and Williams were big reasons why.

The importance of having multiple Lynx defenders tonight cannot be overstated. They take pride in their defense and enjoy strong chemistry with each other.

Team Collier’s Focus on Offense

Team Collier actually has better shooters than Team Clark, despite the latter’s emphasis on having shooters. The second, third, and fifth-leading three-point shooters all play for Team Collier, whereas Team Clark has just the fourth-ranked three-point shooter. This fact is part of what makes it tempting to parlay our under with the Team Collier moneyline, if you are looking to play a side.

Despite its collection of three-point shooting talent, Team Collier’s focus on offense will be inside scoring. With Collier, Stewart, a versatile bully like Angel Reese, and others, Team Collier is well-stocked with women who want to attack the basket. Stewart and Reese both rank top-seven in field goal attempts within five feet of the basket, and Collier, who is also effective in the midrange, is close behind them.

Contrasting Offensive Styles Define This Matchup

This emphasis on inside scoring is important because it creates a blatant contrast in style with the three-point-oriented Team Clark.

This contrast in style is also evident in the collection of Washington players on Team Clark — Team Clark, as the Mystics do, wants to play fast, whereas Collier, with her Minnesota and other teammates, are more suited for a slower-paced game.

Of course, a focus on inside scoring also lends itself in general to a slower game tempo, and the presence of two-time All-Defensive Team selection A’ja Wilson on Team Clark will ensure that Team Collier doesn’t find too much success at the rim.

Team Collier will be focused on playing methodical basketball and, with its stout defense, will ensure that it keeps Team Clark from running up-and-down to shoot threes and that, instead, it establishes its preferred tempo.

The Final Pick

By finding that this game will be slow in tempo and by appreciating the Team Collier defense, we locate value in the “under” at BetOnline because the total is as high as it is for reasons — Team Clark’s preferred tempo and offensive talent — that Team Collier will prevent from applying to this game.

Lock in your bet before the number drops!

Under 257.5 (-110)

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