Dallas Wings vs. Phoenix Mercury Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/7/21
It’s a battle of Western Conference teams on the parquet floor in WNBA action in the Valley of the Sun. The Dallas Wings are on the road as they travel to face the Phoenix Mercury Tuesday night. Dallas won a defensive struggle on the road as they edged Seattle 68-67 to earn a split of a two-game set in the Pacific Northwest. Phoenix swept a two-game home-and-home set with the Sky as they picked up a 77-74 win in overtime Thursday night. In the first meeting this season, it was the Mercury picking up an 89-85 road victory on May 29. That means the teams split the last four matchups.
Dallas Wings Hope to Build Off Big Road Win
Dallas earned a split of their two-game road set with the defending champion Storm as they managed to pull out a game in the third close contest between the teams this season. The Wings enter this one 3-5 on the season and sat ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. On Sunday, Dallas needed a fourth quarter rally to get the win but came up with the plays when it mattered. The Wings led by four after the opening quarter, trailed by five at the half and faced a 12-point deficit with 3:12 to play in the third quarter. Dallas cut the deficit to seven after three quarters and still trailed by that margin with 2:06 to play. The Wings scored the game’s final eight points, capped by Arike Ogunbowale’s three-pointer with 0.7 seconds to play, to earn the win. Dallas shot 35.7% from the field, including just five of 22 from three-point range, but held a 42-34 edge on the glass in the victory. Ogunbowale led the Wings with 24 points and six rebounds in the win, hitting two of her three three-pointers in the final minute.
The Wings come into this one third in the league in scoring with 87.6 points per game this season. Dallas is first in rebounding (39.3 boards per contest) but rank 7th in the league in assists with 18.4 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 10th by allowing 86.3 points per contest. Allisha Gray is third on the team by averaging 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and three assists per game on the year. Arike Ogunbowale (22.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists), Marina Mabrey (19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists), Isabelle Harrison (8.9 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (11 points, eight rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally, Dana Evans, Kristine Anigwe and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are seventh in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 42.7% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.8) and stand fifth in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 35.9% from long range. The Wings are fifth in free throw shooting as they convert 80.6% of their chances at the stripe.
Phoenix Mercury Look to Extend Win Streak
Phoenix won their third straight contest as they edged the Sky in overtime at home on Thursday night. That gives the Mercury a little rest advantage and they enter this game fourth in the WNBA playoff picture, two games behind the Sun for the top spot. Against Chicago, Phoenix led by two after the opening quarter and by eight at the half before getting outscored 25-9 in the third quarter to trail by eight. In the fourth quarter, the Mercury trailed by 13 with 7:42 to play before outscoring Chicago 19-6 the rest of regulation to force overtime. During the extra session, Phoenix gave up the first five points before outscoring the Sky 10-2 the rest of the way to earn the win. The Mercury shot 42.9% from the field, including five of 14 from three-point range, and overcame 17 turnovers in the win. Skylar Diggins-Smith led Phoenix with 28 points in the triumph.
The Mercury are ninth in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 80.3 points per game. Phoenix is fifth in rebounding (36.6 rebounds) per contest and stand fifth in the league by handing out 20.1 assists a night. The Mercury are fifth in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 80.3 points per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith is leading the Mercury in scoring with 19.4 points plus 5.3 assists a night. Brittney Griner (17 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks), Diana Taurasi (15.8 points, 3.8 assists) and Brianna Turner (7.5 points, 8.8 rebounds) are solid scoring options. Kia Nurse (11.8 points), Kia Vaughn, Megan Walker, Sophie Cunningham, Shey Peddy, Alanna Smith and Cierra Burdick are other role players for coach Sandy Brondello. Phoenix is second in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.9% as a team from the floor. The Mercury is ninth in three-pointers per game (6.8 per game) and 8th in three-point shooting (32.5%) this season. Phoenix is 11th in the WNBA in free throw shooting as they cash in 74.8% of their chances on the year. Taurasi was announced to have suffered a fractured sternum that she sustained May 16 against the Sun and is out until late June. She is expected to miss at least four weeks.
Pick: Phoenix Mercury -1.5
Dallas is coming off an impressive road victory but the fact remains that their defense has struggled all season long. While they held Seattle to just 67 points in the contest Sunday, that’s more the aberration than the norm and it still took an 8-0 run in the last two minutes for the Wings to get the victory. Phoenix has won three straight games coming into this one as Nurse has stepped right in to help replace the production of Taurasi. The Mercury are playing sound basketball and they shoot the ball well. Factor that in with home court along with the edge on the defensive end of the floor and you have to lean toward the Mercury here.
Total: Over 166
Sure, Dallas saw their game Sunday wind up under the total but you can’t rely on them to play another rock fight here. The Wings have seen the over hit four times and the under hit four times in their eight games on the season. Meanwhile, Phoenix has seen the under hit in five of their eight games on the year but they have gotten things going on the offensive end of the floor during this win streak. The over has hit in each of the last four matchups and six of their last nine contests coming into this one. With Dallas’ defensive deficiencies and the Mercury’s ability to score, this one winds up going over the total.
