Connecticut Sun vs. Washington Mystics Prediction and Odds - 6/29/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams are on the floor in the nation’s capital for a WNBA matchup. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they make the trip to face the Washington Mystics Tuesday night. Connecticut comes in off a 74-58 home win over Chicago in their previous game Sunday afternoon. Washington was dropped 85-74 on the road by Dallas in their most recent contest Saturday afternoon. The Sun prevailed in the first meeting between the teams this season, claiming an 86-81 home victory on May 21. Going into this contest, the teams have split the last 10 meetings though the Sun have taken the last two.
Connecticut Sun Looking for Third Straight Win
Connecticut won their second straight and snapped the seven-game win streak of the Sky in the process as they rolled to the win Sunday. The Sun enter this contest third in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games behind the Storm for the top spot. Connecticut rode their defensive presence to the win as the only time they trailed in the contest was at 2-0. The Sun responded with a 13-2 run to take a nine-point lead. Connecticut saw the lead balloon to 17 with 2:45 to play in the first half before giving up a 13-0 run to cut their lead to four in the opening seconds of the second half. The Sun responded with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to go up 14 and weren’t seriously challenged after that. Connecticut shot 42.2% from the field, including six of 14 from three-point range, and held Chicago to 33.3% shooting from the floor in the contest. DeWanna Bonner led the Sun with 23 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
The Sun is 10th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 79.3 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is sixth in the league in rebounding (36.5 boards a night) while they stand 10th by dishing out 17.7 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 74.2 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 17 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (8.2 points) and Brionna Jones (14.4 points, 6.5 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (11.8 points, three rebounds, 4.2 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.6% as a team. The Sun are sixth in three-pointers per game (7.2) and fourth in three-point percentage (36.1%) on the year. Connecticut has sputtered at the charity stripe as they convert on 79.2% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles. Jones missed most of June as she represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in EuroBasket. She is expecting to return to action for this contest.
Washington Mystics Try to Get Back in Win Column
Washington dropped their second straight game as they were knocked off by Dallas in the finale of a three-game road trip Saturday. The Mystics fell to 7-8 on the season and sat ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. Against Dallas, Washington gave up a 14-2 run in the opening quarter to trail 19-7 and never really recovered. The Mystics trailed by eight after the opening quarter and by 16 at the half. Washington couldn’t get closer than five in the second half as they went down in defeat. The Mystics shot 41.7% from the field, including nine of 31 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 40-32. Tina Charles led Washington with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Mystics are sixth in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82.4 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 7th in the league in rebounding (35.4 boards per game) and is 6th in assists by handing out 19.1 dimes a night. The Mystics are ninth in the league in scoring defense by allowing an average of 83.5 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 25.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest this season. Ariel Atkins is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 17.9 points a night. Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen (14 points, 7.1 boards), Natasha Cloud, Theresa Plaisance, Sydney Wiese, Kiara Leslie, Stella Johnson, Shavonte Zellous, Leilani Mitchell and Jillian Alleyne are key pieces for coach Mike Thibault. Washington is 12th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 40.6% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are second in the league in threes per game (10) and stand 7th in the league in three-point percentage (34.2%) on the year. Washington is excellent at the charity stripe as they are third in the league by sinking 84.2% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne is currently still out as she continues her recovery from offseason back surgery. McCall (knee) is out while Hines-Allen (knee) and Cloud (ankle) are questionable. The Mystics signed Megan Gustafson last week after being granted a hardship exemption by the league.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
Washington is still missing some key pieces in their rotation, which makes it tough because Charles can’t shoulder the load by herself. She does lead the league in scoring, which makes her a dangerous weapon for any team to contend with on the floor. In this one though, the Sun have won two straight games, bring the league’s toughest scoring defense to the floor, and perhaps most importantly, they expect to have Jones back on the floor here. That’s a major boost for Connecticut, making the team that much more effective on both ends of the floor. Even being on the road, you have to give the edge to the Sun thanks to their edge in rotation depth and on the defensive end of the floor.
Total: Under
These teams went over the total in the first meeting this season and that continued a trend where the teams have gone over the mark in six of their last eight contests. With that said, Connecticut is the league’s leading team in scoring defense and just limited a Sky team with seven straight wins to a season-low 58 points. The Sun has seen the under hit in 10 of their 15 games this season. On the flip side, Washington has seen the over hit in 10 of their 15 games but they’re going to have a challenge in this one trying to put points on the board against a full-strength Connecticut squad. Look for the Sun to slow things down and keep the game under the total.
