Another night in the W is among us with only one game on the Thursday, May 16 slate. But don't fret! Because this matchup is a good one that you don't want to miss with the New York Liberty taking a visit to Indiana to face Caitlin Clark and the Fever.
Can Jonquel Jones light a fire under the Liberty to power them over the Fever? Or will Caitlin Clark find her groove a little smoother in this matchup to boost the Fever to an upset win over New York?
Our experts give their player props for both of the players in the Thursday, May 16th best bets. Let's see what they exactly have in store for the WNBA best bets and expert picks for today.
WNBA Best Bets Today | Thursday, May 16
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. ET | |
| 7 p.m. ET | |
| 7 p.m. ET | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our WNBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Liberty vs. Fever
By Jim Turvey
Jonquel season is back!
Last year, in her first season with the Liberty, Sandy Brondello and the Liberty staff really slow played Jones' minutes all season, basically building up slowly to a full minutes load for the postseason.
This season the former MVP has hit the ground running, playing 33 minutes in her season debut and posting 25 points and eight rebounds as a result. Jones had the highest usage rate, by a margin, in the Liberty season opener, and now she draws a potential mtachup with NaLyssa Smith, a talented scorer but woefully lacking defender.
Jones should be able to dominate offensively, and with any sort of minutes restriction clearly removed, I love her points play on Thursday.
I would play up to 16.5 -110.
Pick: Jonquel Jones over 14.5 points
| | |
Liberty vs. Fever
The under for points hit in game one, but that's come down to 20.5. I'd take that again, but I have more confidence in the Connecticut Sun defense than the New York Liberty — duh, they were the best defense in the W last season and have been top two in each of the last four years.
The Liberty were a top flight defense last year, but they won't lockdown the perimeter the way the Sun do.
For the 100th time, Caitlin Clark will struggle to score this year, but I think the passing will be there. She had three assists to 10 turnovers against the league's best defense in her first game, that's as bad as it'll get.
She’ll get her assists this season. She’s clearly looking to pass, as evident by those 10 turnovers, and she had a 41.4 usage in game one. The Fever are clearly giving her early freedom, and this will get to 5.5 and 6.5 regularly in due time.
Pick: Caitlin Clark over 4.5 assists
| | |
Liberty vs. Fever
By Maltman
Jonquel Jones came out firing in the Liberty’s first game of the season. Last year, she averaged 0.8 three-pointers per game on 2.3 attempts, but in the season opener she took 8 threes and made 4 of them. Is this an anomaly or has she worked on her shot?
Hitting 4 threes in a WNBA opener isn’t particularly common. Since 2020, 9 starters have hit 4 or more threes in their first game of the season. In the following game, 7 of the 9 hit at least two threes, either by sheer volume or an uptick in accuracy.
This is a bet on either of those happening at a big plus number: either Jones keeps firing, or her new accuracy means she doesn’t have to take as many to hit two of them. Betting .2u on Jones over 1.5 threes at +178 on FanDuel (would bet down to +140).
Pick: Jonquel Jones over 1.5 three pointers made
| | |
