Washington Mystics vs. Phoenix Mercury Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/19/21
Interconference action is all the rage in WNBA action as teams continue to get up to speed coming out of the Olympic break. The Washington Mystics are on the road as they travel to the Valley of the Sun to face the Phoenix Mercury Thursday night. Washington finished up a two-game series on the road against Las Vegas Tuesday night and was swept as they fell 93-83. Phoenix was in action at home Tuesday night as they hosted Indiana in another interconference clash and picked up an 84-80 victory. In the first meeting this season, it was the Mercury cruising to a 91-70 home victory on May 18. That gave the Mercury five straight wins in the series.
Washington Mystics Looking to Improve on the Road
Washington was swept in their two-game series with the Aces as they were unable to slow Las Vegas down. The Mystics entered Wednesday 8-12 on the year and stand ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. On Tuesday night, Washington had another second half meltdown that cost them the contest. The Mystics trailed by two after the opening quarter but outscored Las Vegas 28-18 in the second quarter to lead by eight at the half. In the second half, Washington was outscored 52-34, including a critical 15-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters, to wind up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. The Mystics shot 42.9% from the field, including five of 27 from three-point range, but allowed Las Vegas to shoot 56.7% from the field in the game. Tina Charles led Washington with 30 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Mystics are seventh in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82.1 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 9th in the league in rebounding (34.2 boards per game) and is 6th in assists by handing out 19.3 dimes a night. The Mystics are ninth in the league in scoring defense by allowing an average of 84.4 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 26.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest this season. Ariel Atkins is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 17.4 points a night. Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen (13.4 points, 6.9 boards), Natasha Cloud, Theresa Plaisance, Sydney Wiese, Stella Johnson, Shavonte Zellous, Leilani Mitchell, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Megan Gustafson are key pieces for coach Mike Thibault. Washington is 11th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.1% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are second in the league in threes per game (9.5) and stand 9th in the league in three-point percentage (32.9%) on the year. Washington is excellent at the charity stripe as they are third in the league by sinking 82.8% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne is currently still out as she continues her recovery from offseason back surgery. Zellous (ankle) is out indefinitely at this point in time.
Phoenix Mercury Trying to Take Care of Business at Home
Phoenix won their second straight and fourth in their last five games as they held off a gritty showing by Indiana at home Tuesday night. The Mercury improved to 11-10 on the season and held the fifth seed in the WNBA playoff picture entering Wednesday, five games behind the Aces for the top spot and 2.5 games clear of the ninth-place Mystics to remain in the playoff picture. Phoenix was even after the opening quarter and trailed by as many as seven in the first half. The deficit was four at the half but a 9-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters gave the Mercury a 62-54 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. Phoenix shot 41.8% from the field, including six of 20 from three-point range, and connected on 22 of 24 free throws in the game to Indiana’s 10 of 17. Brittney Griner led the Mercury with 25 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the win.
The Mercury are 8th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 80.6 points per game. Phoenix is sixth in rebounding (36.1 rebounds) per contest and stand seventh in the league by handing out 19.1 assists a night. The Mercury are seventh in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 81.5 points per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith is second on the Mercury in scoring with 18.3 points plus five assists a night. Brittney Griner (20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 blocks), Diana Taurasi (16.6 points, 4.6 assists) and Brianna Turner (7.5 points, 9.1 rebounds) are solid scoring options. Kia Nurse (9.3 points), Kia Vaughn, Megan Walker, Sophie Cunningham, Shey Peddy and Alanna Smith are other role players for coach Sandy Brondello. Phoenix is fifth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.1% as a team from the floor. The Mercury is 9th in three-pointers per game (6.8 per game) and 11th in three-point shooting (31.5%) this season. Phoenix is 8th in the WNBA in free throw shooting as they cash in 79.9% of their chances on the year. Diggins-Smith suffered an ankle injury in the opening minutes Tuesday night and is doubtful here.
Pick: Phoenix Mercury
Washington has struggled on the road this season as they come in 3-8 while being outscored by 4.4 points per game this season. The Mystics fell apart in the second half of both games against Las Vegas, blowing a 21-point lead over the final 12 minutes to lose by one, and then faded in the second half again Tuesday night. Phoenix has turned things around with four wins in their last five games and they are playing their best basketball of the season right now. The Mercury get another big game from the pairing of Griner and Taurasi to overcome the potential absence of Diggins-Smith to deliver the victory here.
Total: Over
Phoenix has faced weak defensive teams in their first two games out of the Olympic break in Atlanta and Indiana. The Mercury now gets a crack at a Washington team that is below average as well. Phoenix is trying to push themselves away from the .500 mark and beating weaker teams from the other conference is a good way to get that momentum going. Washington has the firepower to put up heavy point totals themselves, as we saw against Las Vegas. The Mystics are going to push the tempo and make Phoenix keep up with them. In the first meeting this season, we saw 161 points on the board, two points short of the total. This one ends up over the mark in a more even contest.