The pick — Caitlin Clark UNDER 30.5 points + rebounds + assists at Storm (-102, FanDuel)
FanDuel offers:
It's embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t fully understand the computer game Minesweeper until I was around 25 years old. You know, that freebie game on everyone’s computers starting in the 1990s? I didn’t get it — the numbers, the colors, why I kept losing. It made no sense.
So here I am again, age 29, still not fully grasping the minefield in front of me. This time, though, that minefield is Caitlin Clark props.
My last pick — Clark’s point total over against the Liberty last Saturday — missed by a mile. So it’s time to reassess.
Given the circumstances, I’m betting on her points, rebounds and assists being under 30.5 against the Storm on Wednesday. I have a few reasons.
First, there’s a chance she’s not 100% healthy. Clark injured her ankle in the first half of Indiana’s 88-84 loss to Connecticut on Monday, enough so that a locker room visit was required. She came back to finish the second half, but the rookie might not be fully healthy as the Fever begin a three-game West Coast trip in Seattle.
Second: The Storm are a very, very good defensive team. Through their first four games, they boast the third-best defense in the WNBA with a rating of 94.1. Three of their four games have gone under the total number, too. Doing anything offensively will likely be at a premium for the Fever.
Finally, Clark has only gone over this number once — against New York last Saturday. It occurred in her second game against the Liberty, a contest in which she played the most minutes of her career at 34.
I hate to fade the W’s biggest star, but with Clark possibly hobbled going against a ravenous Seattle defense, I have to follow the data.
Let's hope this bet is akin to revealing a number, not a bomb, in Minesweeper. That IS how the game works, right?