WNBA picks, predictions today: Fever vs. Lynx best bets for Friday, August 22 from proven experts

The WNBA has three games on Friday’s schedule, including a high-profile clash between the first-place Minnesota Lynx and the sixth-place Indiana Fever. Napheesa Collier, the MVP frontrunner, is questionable to play due to an ankle injury. Friday is the second of a back-to-back for Minnesota, and Collier didn’t play Thursday against the Atlanta Dream either. On the other side, the Fever are also without their top player in Caitlin Clark, and they’re also without sharpshooter Sophie Cunningham, who suffered a season-ending injury recently. Indiana will lean heavily on Kelsey Mitchell, who ranks fourth in the WNBA with 20.4 points per game. Tipoff for Friday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Basketball fans interested in WNBA betting need to check out Friday’s best bets for Lynx vs. Fever from WNBA experts Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai before placing any bets of their own.

Barzilai is a Ph.D. from Stanford who served as Director of Basketball Analytics for the Philadelphia 76ers. Five years ago, he founded HerHoopStats.com — a groundbreaking website that unlocks insights about the women’s game. Wetzel, the site’s lead betting writer, incorporates his mathematical background and strong knowledge of women’s hoops to turn the site’s prediction model into picks. Wetzel and Barzilai went 202-111-2 (+57.9 units) during the 2024 WNBA season and posted a 147-88-1 (+47.1 units) during the 2024-25 NCAA season. In the 2023 WNBA season, they finished 238-185-1 (+29.5 units).

Here are Wetzel and Barzilai’s best bets for Minnesota vs. Indiana:

Lynx vs. Fever picks:

Minnesota -6.5Napheesa Collier Over 28.5 points + rebounds + assists 

Minnesota -6.5

While the Lynx are on a back-to-back with travel in between after losing in Atlanta last night, they also look likely to get MVP favorite Napheesa Collier back for this one after she sat out the Atlanta contest despite looking close to returning.

This line should be in the high single digits if Collier suits up, and there’s enough of a chance of that that I’m willing to bet on it. Despite two straight losses, Minnesota has looked good enough without her to be worth that potential risk.

Napheesa Collier Over 28.5 points + rebounds + assists

This line implies that sportsbooks are hedging on a minutes limit for Collier, given that she’s cleared this in 21 of 27 outings and should project for far more than this with a full workload. A minutes limit is certainly possible, but it’s not typically how Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve has handled things.

Given that Collier has been held out longer than expected, it’s likely that the Lynx were being overly cautious and waiting until she was 100% full go. After her previous injury this season, she returned to play more than 40 minutes in an overtime game (more than 35 in regulation). If she ends up sitting, this will of course void, but if she plays, it’s most likely to provide excellent value.