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We have two contests on the WNBA slate for Thursday, though a key injury has completely changed the complexion of one of the matchups. Caitlin Clark was ruled out this morning with a groin injury and will miss the Indiana Fever's clash with the Los Angeles Sparks at 7 p.m. ET. At FanDuel Sportsbook, the line moved from Fever -11 before the Clark announcement to its current position of Fever -6. The other clash is between the Washington Mystics and the Las Vegas Aces at 10 p.m. ET. Both showdowns will be televised on Prime Video.  

Editor's note: This article was originally published before Caitlin Clark was ruled out with a groin injury Thursday morning. 

Looking to get in on WNBA betting at the best betting sites? How about the top WNBA player props? Let's check out the best plays for Sunday, with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook.

Today's WNBA picks:

  • Aliyah Boston Over 14.5 points -125 (1 unit, DK)
  • Mystics +8 -108 (1 unit, FD)

Aliyah Boston Over 14.5 points

Boston has been on fire in the scoring department over her last three games, averaging 24.7 points per contest over that stretch. Part of that has been aided due to plus matchups, with one of those games coming against the Aces' struggling defense and another against a smaller and shorthanded Valkyries defense. Boston did face a Storm defense that has great size during that stretch, and she still went off for 31 points.

Boston had to be more of a scorer during that stretch with Clark struggling to find her shot of late. The second-year superstar made just one of 23 3-pointers over the Fever's last three games, and Clark's home-road splits have been extreme, with her averaging averaging 23.4 points (45.8% shooting at home compared to 11.8 (29.3% shooting) on the road this year. Now, Clark is out for this contest. 

The market was anticipating a Clark bounce-back outing as her points prop was 20.5, a number she's only exceeded in two of nine games this season, before she was ruled out. Boston's points prop was just at 14.5, and that's against a brutal interior Sparks defense.

In three of the Sparks' past four games, they've played the Sky, Storm and Lynx (the other one was the Lynx again, but without MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier). Against the Sky, 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso scored 27 on 10-of-15 shooting. Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike put up 26 on 12-of-16 shooting. In the matchup with the Lynx where Collier played, the Lynx forward tallied 32 on 13-of-16 shooting. You almost never see incredibly efficient shooting numbers like that in the WNBA on that many attempts, let alone for three consecutive games. 

The Sparks just simply don't have answers right now for defending talented forwards and bigs in the paint, and Boston should overpower them too as long as she doesn't get in foul trouble. 

Mystics +8 

The Aces have won consecutive games and are looking to win three straight for the first time all year. However, this line is a bit too high for a Las Vegas team that has plenty of issues. Beating a struggling Sun squad 85-59 on Wednesday night isn't going to eliminate questions about the Aces' shaky interior defense, as they allow 38.4 points in the paint per game, the most in the WNBA. 

Why is that so important in this matchup? The Mystics shoot the fewest 3-point attempts per game in the WNBA at 16.3. The next-fewest? The Wings and Sun each at 20.6. Whether it's guard Brittney Sykes slashing to the hoop or bigs like Shakira Austin or Kiki Iriafen getting touches down low, Washington heavily relies on shots closer to the basket. 

Washington is fourth in the WNBA in points in the paint scored per game (37.6) and allows the third-fewest points in the paint per game (30.7). If the Mystics can slow down A'ja Wilson inside, which they did in their first matchup (Wilson shot 5-of-13 for 15 points in a 3-point win), I don't trust the Aces' outside shooting enough to win by this big of a margin. 

Overall Record: 28-26, +7.01 units