Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty Preview, Prediction and Odds - 8/27/21
It’s an interconference matchup on the WNBA parquet floor in the Big Apple as a pair of teams looking to solidify playoff positioning take the court. The Phoenix Mercury are on the road as they make the trip to face the New York Liberty Friday night to close a two-game set. In the first game of the series Wednesday night, it was Phoenix rolling to a 106-79 victory to ensure no worse than a split. The Mercury have claimed nine of the last 11 meetings between the teams though it was the Liberty picking up an 85-83 road win in the first matchup this season on June 13. That means the Mercury evened the season series by prevailing Wednesday.
Phoenix Mercury Looking for Sixth Straight Triumph
Phoenix ran their win streak to five straight games as they took care of business against a sputtering New York team in the first game of this two-game set Wednesday. The Mercury improved to 14-10 on the season and held the fifth seed in the WNBA playoff picture entering Tuesday, four games behind the Sun for the top spot and four games clear of the ninth-place Sparks to remain in the playoff picture. On Wednesday night, Phoenix jumped out early and never looked back en route to the one-sided win. After giving up the opening bucket, the Mercury scored nine straight points and went on cruise control. Phoenix led by 16 after the opening quarter and never let New York closer than nine after that. The Mercury shot a blistering 56.6% from the field, including 12 of 25 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 40-33. Skylar Diggins-Smith led Phoenix with 27 points in the victory.
The Mercury are 6th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 81.6 points per game. Phoenix is second in rebounding (37.1 rebounds) per contest and stand fifth in the league by handing out 19.5 assists a night. The Mercury are fifth in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 80.1 points per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith is second on the Mercury in scoring with 18.9 points plus five assists a night. Brittney Griner (20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, two blocks), Diana Taurasi (16.2 points, 4.8 assists) and Brianna Turner (7.8 points, 9.6 rebounds) are solid scoring options. Kia Nurse (8.7 points), Kia Vaughn, Megan Walker, Sophie Cunningham, Shey Peddy and Alanna Smith are other role players for coach Sandy Brondello. Phoenix is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.4% as a team from the floor. The Mercury is 7th in three-pointers per game (seven per game) and 8th in three-point shooting (32.8%) this season. Phoenix is 9th in the WNBA in free throw shooting as they cash in 79.2% of their chances on the year. Griner (leg) is questionable here after getting dinged up Wednesday though she did dunk in the contest.
New York Liberty Trying to Hang Onto Playoff Spot
New York lost their third in a row and their sixth in the last seven games as they were walloped by Phoenix in the first game of this two-game set. The Liberty dropped to 11-15 on the season, leaving them seventh in the WNBA playoff picture entering Thursday, though they stood even with the ninth-place Sparks. Against Phoenix, New York’s high-water mark came when they took a 2-0 lead. The Liberty gave up the next nine points and saw things get worse from there. New York trailed by 16 after the opening quarter and couldn’t get closer than nine over the final three quarters as they went down in defeat. The Liberty shot 37.8% from the field, including 13 of 36 from three-point range, and allowed Phoenix to hit a sizzling 56.6% from the floor in the contest. Betnijah Laney had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Liberty in the loss.
The Liberty comes into this contest 9th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 79.6 points per game. New York is 11th in rebounding (33.7 boards a night) and sixth with 19.4 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 11th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 86.2 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 17.9 points plus 5.2 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (10.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (nine points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (12.8 points, 5.6 boards), Natasha Howard (14.9 points, 6.4 boards), Kylee Shook, Rebecca Allen, Jazmine Jones, Reshanda Gray and DiDi Richards are key contributors for coach Walt Hopkins. New York is 7th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.1% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is first in the league in made threes per game (10.4) while ranking third in three-point shooting at 36.8%. New York is 8th in free throw percentage as they cash in 80.2% of their chances at the stripe. Jones (foot) is questionable for this contest while Whitcomb (ankle) is out indefinitely after sustaining an injury August 22 against the Sparks.
Pick: Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix has gotten hot of late as they’ve won all five of their games since the Olympic break and seven of their previous eight going back before the break. The Mercury now are four games above .500 and within a game of the fourth seed in the WNBA playoff picture. Meanwhile, New York has dropped three straight and six of their last seven entering this one. The Liberty also have to deal with a shortened rotation with Whitcomb and potentially Jones missing for this contest. Whitcomb had really developed into a solid scorer and facilitator while Howard was missing so that’s a big blow for New York. The Liberty was awful defensively in the contest Wednesday and Phoenix has hit their stride right now. Even if Griner is limited in some fashion, Phoenix rolls to a victory here.
Total: Over
Phoenix has been better on the road than at home this season, going 8-3 and putting up more offense than they do at home. The Mercury average 85.7 points per game on the road this season compared to 78.2 points a night at home this year. Phoenix sees an average of 164.8 points per game in their road contests. The Mercury have seen the under go 12-11-1 in their games on the year. New York is 6-8 at home with an average total of 168.6 points pe game in those contests. The Liberty have seen the over post a 16-10 record this season in their games. We’ve seen the teams put up 168 and 185 points in the two meetings this season. Those games went over the total and with the way New York is struggling defensively, this one goes over the mark as well.