Another day with just a single game in the WNBA, with the Phoenix Mercury (5-7) visiting Los Angeles for another matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks (5-5). Los Angeles won 85-80 on Wednesday.
Phoenix at Los Angeles Betting Odds
The Mercury are now favored by 4 points after opening as 2.5-point favorites, while the total has dropped from 157.5 down to 155.5. Phoenix is -165 on the moneyline.
Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury have been a slight disappointment so far this season, going 5-7 in the early going of the season and they’ve really struggled at home. They’ve been a better road team than home team this season, Wednesday’s loss to the Sparks notwithstanding. They got themselves in an early hole against Los Angeles the previous game and were never able to recover.
Brittney Griner had a big game for the Mercury, scoring 30 points last time, as she poses matchup problems for Los Angeles, who are down a couple of inside players. Griner also grabbed 10 rebounds in the game, but left the arena Wednesday in a walking boot, but there’s been nothing definite about her status for this game. The Mercury had a huge free throw advantage on Wednesday, shooting 28 free throws to just 6 for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks did what they needed to do last game against Phoenix and get Te’a Cooper back for this game and she’s one of the team’s better defenders. But the Sparks did a decent job against Skylar Diggins-Smith last game, holding the Phoenix guard to 4 of 13 from the field and getting enough offense to get the victory.
The plan for the Sparks ahead of the first game was to push the tempo and try to attack the basket before the larger Phoenix team could get set-up defensively. It worked much better in the first half than the second half, as LA scored 53 points in the first half and just 32 in the second half, but were able to hold on for the win.
Phoenix at Los Angeles Pick
The final score of last game between these two was within my range where no adjustments were made to either team’s ratings after the game. So once again, I have Phoenix predicted to win by an 82-80 final score. This is a tough one to call due to the injury situation of both teams, but will take a stab on Los Angeles +4 in this one. Getting Cooper back is big for the Sparks, who might be able to go small with a bit of success against the Mercury.