WNBA picks, predictions today: Sky vs. Fever best bets from proven experts for Friday, Sept. 5

It was announced on Thursday that the Indiana Fever will officially be without Caitlin Clark for the remainder of the season as she recovers from a groin injury. Indiana is currently clinging onto the eighth and final WNBA playoff spot, and will host the Chicago Sky on Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION.

If you’re a fan of WNBA betting and are thinking of placing a wager on Friday’s Sky vs. Fever matchup, you first should see what WNBA experts Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai have locked in for this game.

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 Chicago vs. Indiana:

Sky vs. Fever picks:

Fever -14

Chicago has been an entirely different team without Angel Reese this season, and after she picked up her eighth technical foul of the season on Wednesday, the Sky will have to navigate another game without her while she serves a one-game suspension.

Reese or no Reese, Indiana has matched up well with Chicago lately, winning by 15+ in five straight matchups, including all four so far this season. Bet on that streak to extend in this game and for the Fever to once again cover -14 against the depleted Sky.

Kamilla Cardoso Over 9.5 rebounds

In games without Angel Reese this season, Cardoso is averaging double figures in rebounds and has cleared this line seven of ten times. Two of those seven came against the Fever, and she grabbed 12 boards in each of those games.

There should be plenty of paths to Cardoso reaching double digits on the glass, between the extra rebound opportunities available with the league’s leading rebounder off the floor and the extra minutes (Cardoso’s minutes increase from 25.6 with Reese to 30.3 without her). Given the price is still at standard juice, this is a bet worth taking.