Sky +3 (-110) over Mercury
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- The Mercury have three key players coming back from the Olympics, which should be a tough situation for them in this contest.
- Chicago has enough size to contend with Brittney Griner, something not all teams can rely on.
The second half of the WNBA season will tip off on Thursday night with a three-game slate. One of those three games will feature the Phoenix Mercury visiting the Chicago Sky, in a battle of teams that will be looking to solidify a playoff position in the second-half of the season. In our WNBA betting picks for Thursday night, we look at this Mercury vs Sky contest from Chicago.
This game will be played at Wintrust Arena at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday, August 14, 2024.
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury enter the post-Olympic portion of the season with a 13-12 record, which is good for sixth place in the WNBA standings. Phoenix had three players take part in the Olympics for the United States, as Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, and Kahleah Copper have rejoined the Mercury with gold medals around their necks. Now they will look to lead their team to a win in their first game back from the Olympic break.
The big question will be whether the Mercury see a drop-off in level from their top players after the run they made in the Olympic Games. Copper and Griner are still especially impactful, with Copper essentially bailing Team USA out in the gold medal game against France. But if there is any fatigue factor or letdown from the three gold medalists from the Mercury, they could struggle in their first game back.
Chicago Sky
Going into the second-half of the season, the Chicago Sky have a record of 10-14 and are in eighth place in the WNBA standings. The Sky made headlines going into the Olympic break when they traded Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun in a move that was a bit baffling for a team trying to build things up around their young core. Now the question will be whether the Sky can continue to improve despite losing a proven scorer via trade.
Fortunately, the Sky still has their group of exciting young bigs to help them overcome the issues they could experience on the perimeter here, especially with Chennedy Carter questionable for this game. Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, and the rest of the Sky frontcourt will be especially important against Griner and the Mercury. As long as Chicago continues to battle on the glass, they could very well win outright as a home underdog in this contest.
