Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces Prediction and Odds - 5/28/21
We have an interconference clash on the parquet floor in the Silver State in WNBA action. The Indiana Fever are on the road as they make the trip to face the Las Vegas Aces Friday night. Indiana was beaten 85-69 at home in the second game of their two-game home set with the Mystics Tuesday night to end up with a split. Las Vegas knocked off Phoenix 85-79 on the road Wednesday night in their most recent contest. Last season, the Aces took both meetings in the bubble, including a 92-86 win as the “home” team on September 8, 2020. That gave Las Vegas nine wins in the last 10 meetings between the teams.
Indiana Fever Looking to Pick Up Road Victory
Indiana ended up splitting their two games at home with Washington as they followed up their victory Sunday by getting drubbed Tuesday night. The Fever entered Thursday 1-5, putting them on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Against Washington, Indiana gave up an 8-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, breaking a 15-15 tie, and never got back into the contest. The Fever trailed by five after one quarter, by 14 at the half and by as many as 18 in the game. Indiana shot 43.8% from the field, including five of 14 from three-point range, but allowed Washington to shoot 50% in the game. Tiffany Mitchell paced the Fever with 11 points in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 10th in the league in scoring offense with 76 points per game. Indiana is fifth in the league in rebounding (36.7 boards per contest) and is ninth in the league in assists with an average of 18.3 dimes per game. The Fever are 8th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 82.7 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 15.7 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (10.2 points, 3.8 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell, Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 7th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.8% as a team on the year. The Fever are 10th in threes per game (4.7) while standing 10th by hitting 27.7% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is eighth in free throw shooting as they sink 76.6% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar missed Tuesday’s game with an ankle injury and is questionable here.
Las Vegas Aces Seeking Back-to-Back Wins
Las Vegas bounced back from a loss to Connecticut at home as they took care of business against the Diana Taurasi-less Mercury on the road Wednesday night. The Aces improved to 3-2 and entered Thursday holding the fourth seed in the playoff picture. Against Phoenix, Las Vegas was in a back-and-forth game the whole way as they were even after one quarter, led by one at the half and by two after three quarters. The Aces trailed 79-78 with 1:23 to play but scored the game’s final seven points to earn the victory. Las Vegas shot 44% from the field, including five of 17 from three-point range, and hit 15 of 17 free throws in the contest. Jackie Young led the Aces with a career-high 27 points in the win.
The Aces come into this contest near the top of the pack in scoring offense, ranking third with 85.2 points per game. Las Vegas is sixth in the league in rebounding (35.8 boards a game) and stand fourth in the league in assists by handing out 19.8 dimes per contest. The Aces have been solid on the defensive end of the floor as they are 4th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 79.4 points a game. A’ja Wilson leads the Aces with 17.8 points, eight rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Liz Cambage (13 points, 7.6 rebounds), Jackie Young (16.2 points, five rebounds) and Kelsey Plum (10.5 points) are all solid secondary options on the offensive end. Coach Bill Laimbeer also can call on Chelsea Gray (12.8 points, six assists), Dearica Hamby (9.8 points, 6.4 boards), Riquna Williams, Jisu Park, Emma Cannon and Destiny Slocum to contribute on both ends of the floor. Las Vegas is first in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.9% from the field as a team this season. The Aces are 11th in the league in threes per game (4.4) and eighth in three-point shooting at 30.1% on the year. Las Vegas is currently third in free throw shooting at 84% on the season. Plum is currently with USA Basketball for the three-on-three qualifying tournament in Graz, Austria for the Olympics and will be out until early June.
Pick: Las Vegas Aces -11
Las Vegas got back in the win column by dropping Phoenix and they are at home here. The Aces have split their two home games on the season while Indiana is 0-2 on the road on the year. As it stands, the Fever simply doesn’t have the firepower to try and contend with an Aces team that is loaded with talent. Wilson and Cambage can do damage inside and we’ve seen Cambage shoot from the perimeter in her career as well. The Aces have solid secondary options to lean on offensively with Gray, Hamby and Young, who turned in a career game against Phoenix. Indiana has struggled defensively and they have problems on the offensive end as well. This one goes to the hosts as the Aces deal the Fever another defeat.
Total: Over 166.5
Indiana comes in having seen the over hit just twice in their six games this season. Some of that can be attributed to poor shooting on the offensive end of the floor, which has limited their chances to put points on the board. The Fever have to be better offensively if they hope to turn things around. Las Vegas has seen the over hit in only two of their five games this year but they have the weapons to put up big point totals. The Aces are third in the league in scoring offense and they lead the league in field goal percentage. One of Las Vegas’ unders was by two points and a second one was three points short. That won’t be an issue here as it goes over the mark.
