Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/19/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams tangle on the WNBA hardwood in the nation’s capital. The Indiana Fever are on the road as they make the trip to face the Washington Mystics Saturday night. Indiana comes in off a two-game sweep at home against Seattle as they were dropped 79-69 on Thursday night. Washington split a home-and-home set with Atlanta as they earned a 96-93 victory at home Thursday night in their most recent contest. The teams split two meetings in the Hoosier State earlier this season. In the first meeting, Indiana picked up an 89-77 win on May 23 before Washington answered with an 85-69 victory as the visiting team on May 25.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Find Elusive Second Win
Indiana suffered their ninth straight loss as they were unable to pull out a win at home against the defending champion Storm Thursday night. The Fever dropped to 1-13 on the season and are in the basement of the WNBA playoff picture, 5.5 games behind the Lynx for the final playoff spot. On Thursday night, Indiana trailed by five after the opening quarter, by four at the half and by as many as eight in the third quarter before rallying to tie the game with 3:52 to play in the third. The Fever promptly gave up a 10-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to trail 65-55 with 1:30 to go in the third quarter and couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way. Indiana shot 41.9% from the field, including two of 14 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 40-32. Teaira McCowan led the Fever with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in the win.
The Fever comes into this game 12th in the league in scoring offense with 74.4 points per game. Indiana is ninth in the league in rebounding (34.8 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 17.6 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 88.4 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 15.6 points a night. Teaira McCowan (11.1 points, nine rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (eight points, 3.2 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (10.9 points), 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 9th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.1% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (4.4) while standing 12th by hitting 26.3% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 9th in free throw shooting as they sink 77.2% of their chances at the stripe this season. Hatar missed the last 11 games with an ankle injury and is out indefinitely.
Washington Mystics Look to Maintain Momentum
Washington bounced back from a blowout loss in Atlanta as they edged the Dream at home Thursday night to split their home-and-home set. The Mystics improved to 5-6 on the year with their third win in four games and they entered Friday holding the seventh seed in the WNBA playoff picture. Washington trailed by eight after the opening quarter, by eight at the half and by 14 in the opening minute of the second half before regrouping. The Mystics cut the deficit to two after three quarters and found themselves down eight with six minutes to play. Washington rallied, reeling off an 11-0 run to take an 83-80 lead with 3:16 to play, and didn’t let the Dream get even again. The Mystics shot 49.3% from the field, including 13 of 31 from three-point range, and overcame losing the battle of the boards 37-31 in the contest. Ariel Atkins poured in 32 points to lead Washington in the win.
The Mystics are fifth in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82.8 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 10th in the league in rebounding (34.7 boards per game) and is 7th in assists by handing out 18.5 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 24 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest this season. Ariel Atkins is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 19.3 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 11th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 40.6% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are third in the league in threes per game (9.7) and stand 6th in the league in three-point percentage (34.7%) on the year. Washington is excellent at the charity stripe as they are second in the league by sinking 85% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne is currently still out as she continues her recovery from offseason back surgery. Leslie (neck), Hines-Allen (knee) and McCall (knee) are all questionable here.
Pick: Washington Mystics
While Indiana’s lone win this season came over the Mystics, that was three-plus weeks ago and came at home. Since that point, the Fever have dropped nine straight, including a double-digit defeat at the hands of Washington to start that slide. Indiana is 0-7 on the road this season and they have been outscored by an average of 21.3 points per game in those contests. Washington has won three of their previous four games heading into this one and they should have Charles back after she missed Thursday’s game for the premiere of her film at the Tribeca Film Festival. With Indiana sputtering and Washington playing well, you have to back the Mystics here.
Total: Over
Indiana has seen the over hit in seven of their 14 games this season though their three games with Seattle fell short of the mark. The Fever has seen their two meetings with the Mystics split in regards to the total this season. When the Mystics prevailed in the second game of the two-game set, it marked the first under in the series in the last seven meetings. Washington has been involved in some high-scoring affairs of late with eight of their 11 games on the year going over the total, including their last six contests. With the Wizards putting up big offensive numbers and the Fever playing horrible defense, this one ends up over the mark.
