Connecticut Sun vs. Washington Mystics Prediction and Odds - 8/31/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams in different situations in regards to the WNBA postseason take the floor in the nation’s capital. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they make the trip to face the Washington Mystics Tuesday night. Connecticut swept a two-game home set from Los Angeles as they earned a 76-61 victory Saturday night in their most recent contest. Washington edged Dallas 76-75 at home Saturday night to split a two-game series with the Wings. The teams have split the last 10 meetings though the Sun have won the last three matchups. That includes a 90-71 road victory in the most recent matchup on June 29.
Connecticut Sun Seeking to Stay Hot
Connecticut ran their regular season win streak to eight games as they rolled past Los Angeles to sweep a two-game series Saturday night. The Sun enter this contest holding the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture, one game ahead of Las Vegas for the top overall seed. Against Los Angeles, Connecticut trailed by five after the opening quarter, rallied to lead by three at the half and held a two-point edge with 6:47 to play in the third quarter. The Sun then took complete control, going on a 21-5 run over the next nine-plus minutes to take an 18-point edge with under eight minutes to go, and that propelled them to victory. Connecticut shot 47.5% from the field, including five of 20 from beyond the arc, and dominated the glass by a 38-18 margin. Brionna Jones led the Sun with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.
The Sun is 10th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 78.8 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is third in the league in rebounding (36.4 boards a night) while they stand 9th by dishing out 17.8 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 71.1 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 16.2 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 19.8 points, 10.9 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (7.1 points) and Brionna Jones (14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (11 points, 2.6 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 44.3% as a team. The Sun are seventh in three-pointers per game (6.9) and sixth in three-point percentage (35%) on the year. Connecticut has been mediocre at the charity stripe as they convert on 80.7% of their attempts, which is 7th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is still out as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Washington Mystics Trying to Push Into Playoff Picture
Washington escaped with a one-point win over Dallas for just their second win in the last seven games. The Mystics enter this game 10-15 on the season and stood ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, percentage points behind the Liberty for the final playoff spot. Against Dallas, Washington flipped the script on recent contests: instead of being the team melting down in the second half, they were the ones who mounted a comeback to get the victory. The Mystics trailed by eight after the opening quarter and by 16 at the half. Washington cut the deficit to five after three quarters, rallied to lead by seven with 34.9 seconds to play and needed a pair of Shavonte Zellous free throws with 4.7 seconds to play to secure the win. Dallas hit a three-pointer at the buzzer but Washington hung on for the victory. The Mystics shot 37.1% from the field, including nine of 31 from beyond the arc, and lost the rebounding battle 34-22 yet got the win. Natasha Cloud led the Mystics with 21 points and five assists in the win.
The Mystics are eighth in the league in scoring offense with an average of 80.6 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 9th in the league in rebounding (33.9 boards per game) and is 7th in assists by handing out 18.8 dimes a night. The Mystics are ninth in the league in scoring defense by allowing an average of 83 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 25.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest this season. Ariel Atkins is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 15.4 points a night. Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen (13.6 points, 7.5 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 40.6% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are second in the league in threes per game (9.2) and stand 8th in the league in three-point percentage (32.9%) on the year. Washington is in the middle of the pack at the charity stripe as they are sixth in the league by sinking 81% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne made her season debut against the Storm August 22 after recovering from offseason back surgery. She left Thursday’s game early with a back issue, missed Saturday’s contest and is questionable here. Charles (hip) has been ruled out for the fourth straight game here.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
Connecticut has won eight straight games in regular season play as they took two straight at home against the Sparks. The Sun is atop the WNBA standings entering this game and they have been rolling along since the Olympic break. Washington is minus Charles, who leads the league in scoring, and Delle Donne’s status is unclear here. We haven’t seen the Mystics put together a full game yet as they play well for a half and then get steamrolled in the opposite half. That was the case against the Wings: even though they were victorious, there was a 16-point halftime deficit that had to be overcome. If Washington goes down that much against the Sun, you can turn the lights out. Connecticut gets the win and runs their win streak to nine.
Total: Under
Connecticut saw the under hit for the 17th time in their 26 games on the year in the win over Los Angeles Saturday night. The Sun are the league’s stingiest team when it comes to scoring defense while they are third in field goal percentage defense (41.1%) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (32.6%) on the year. Washington has seen the over hit in 13 of their 25 games but the under has been a big factor in their games of late. The Mystics have seen the under hit in their last five contests and in seven of their last 10. Connecticut has seen the under hit in eight of their last 10 games and with the way they are stopping teams defensively, this contest ends up short of the mark as well.
