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There are two upcoming WNBA contests for Friday. The Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION, followed by the Indiana Fever taking on the Los Angeles Sparks at 10 p.m. ET on ION.

If you're interested in WNBA betting and WNBA player props at the best betting sites for Friday, Aug. 29, then make sure to see today's WNBA best bets at FanDuel Sportsbook. If you're new to betting on the WNBA, we'd recommend reading this WNBA betting guide.

Today's WNBA picks:

Kelsey Mitchell Over 21.5 points

The Fever-Sparks total is incredibly high at 178, and it's justified. The Fever defense has fallen off a cliff as they have the WNBA's fourth-worst defensive rating in August. The worst team this month for defensive rating has been the Sparks, and they're also playing at the third-fastest pace. The point is that there will be lots of points scored, and I think Mitchell will be at the forefront of this scoring explosion. 

Mitchell has scored at least 22 points in five of her past seven games, and the Fever have needed to rely on Mitchell even more offensively of late after losing Sophie Cunningham for the season four games ago.  

One of those games she didn't reach 22 was when she scored 21 points last game against the Seattle Storm, but she sat out the final 7:18 of the game because it was a blowout. The other was when she scored 14 points against the Washington Mystics on a terrible shooting performance (6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3). Players are bound to have off nights here and there, and that was the only game over this recent stretch where Mitchell shot below 45% from the field. 

Earlier this month, Mitchell dropped 34 points against this same Sparks team on 11-of-19 shooting and 7-of-12 from 3-point land. She was the leading scorer in a game where the Fever lost 100-91 to the Sparks. Cameron Brink could end up playing more minutes for Los Angeles, which would help some of the bleeding, but the Sparks' perimeter defense is still a disaster. 

Rhyne Howard Over 4.5 assists

Howard returned for the Dream on Aug. 10 after a month-long absence due to a left knee injury. It was fortunate timing for Atlanta, as the Dream lost starting point guard Jordin Canada to a hamstring injury during an Aug. 10 game against the Mercury. Howard isn't a true point guard like Canada is, but she's taken over on that front over the past several games.

Howard has finished with at least six assists in four of her past five games. She gets an extremely favorable matchup against a Wings team that in August (11 games) is playing at the fastest pace of any team and is allowing the second-most assists per game as well. Basically, there are going to be more possessions and more opportunities to find open teammates for Howard against a poor Wings defense.

I am a little nervous about the potential blowout factor limiting Howard's minutes, especially if Paige Bueckers misses another game due to illness, so I'll make this a half-unit play.