Golden State at Los Angeles

Golden State spent five straight games playing like the WNBA's best team before Portland ambushed them in overtime on Tuesday. Now they need a win over the Sparks to lock up the second seed, and everything about tonight's matchup favors a comfortable win. Los Angeles has nothing left to play for beyond sending Nneka Ogwumike out with a farewell tribute in her final WNBA game; the rest of that roster is closing out a lost season, and it shows defensively, with the Sparks surrendering 86.1 points a night over their last ten games. Golden State's defense, meanwhile, has actually tightened as the stakes have risen — the league's stingiest unit all season at 75.1 points allowed per game has held opponents to just 69.2 over its last ten. The Valkyries have already beaten this Sparks team twice this year, though the second meeting came down to only six points. That game meant nothing for Golden State's seeding, and we're not sweating that margin tonight. This one has the second seed attached, against a team playing out the string with the league's most checked-out roster in uniform. Golden State is 5-2 against the spread as a big favorite this season, and my read on the motivation gap tonight is as lopsided as the box score is about to be. I make Golden State the play on the spread as my WNBA Game of the Week.