Seattle Storm vs. Washington Mystics Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/22/21
It’s an interconference contest on the hardwood in the WNBA coming to you from the nation’s capital. The Seattle Storm are on the road as they travel to face the Washington Mystics Sunday afternoon. Seattle split a two-game series on the road with New York as they ran to a 99-83 victory in the second game of the set Friday night. Washington was dropped 77-64 on the road by Phoenix in their most recent contest Thursday night. The Mystics have won four of the last five meetings coming into this contest, including an 87-83 victory on the road in the first matchup on the year June 22.
Seattle Storm Seeking to Even Series
Seattle bounced back from a pair of losses to open the post-Olympic break slate as they rolled in the second half to drop the Liberty Friday night. The Storm improved to 17-7 on the year and stand third in the WNBA playoff picture, half a game behind the Sun and Aces for the top spot. On Friday night, Seattle was down seven after the opening quarter though they cut the deficit to one at the half. The Storm outscored the Liberty 17-4 over the final 4:44 of the third quarter to break a 59-59 tie and didn’t let New York closer than 12 in the fourth quarter en route to the win. Seattle shot 48.5% from the field, including 14 of 26 from three-point range, and controlled the glass by a 41-29 margin. Jewell Loyd led the Storm with 29 points in the win.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 86.6 points per game. Seattle is second in rebounding (36.6 boards per contest) and is first in the league in assists by dishing out 21.6 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 5th in scoring defense as they allow 80.3 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 20.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (19.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, four assists) and Sue Bird (10.8 points, 5.5 assists) are solid secondary options. Coach Noelle Quinn has a solid group to work with as her team can get production from Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordin Canada, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Epiphanny Prince and Kiana Williams. The Storm are third in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 45.1% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is third in the league in three-point field goals made per game (9.2) and first in three-point percentage as they knock down 39.5% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are above average at the line, ranking fourth in the league by converting 83.1% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant. Williams (ankle) is questionable for this contest.
Washington Mystics Looking to Get Back in Win Column
Washington dropped their third straight and their seventh in the last eight games as they were dumped by Phoenix on the road Thursday. The Mystics entered Saturday 10th in the WNBA standings, half a game behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. Against Phoenix, Washington led by four after the opening quarter, by as many as 12 in the first half and by five at intermission before things fell apart. The Mystics led 47-41 with 7:45 to play in the third quarter before getting giving up a 19-2 run over the next six minutes to trail by 11. Washington didn’t get closer than six the rest of the way en route to the loss. The Mystics shot a dismal 28% from the floor, including six of 26 from three-point range, and allowed Phoenix to shoot 51.6% in the game. Tina Charles led Washington with 17 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Mystics are seventh in the league in scoring offense with an average of 81.2 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 8th in the league in rebounding (34.2 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 84 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 25.7 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 16.9 points a night. Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen (13.2 points, 7.1 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 40.5% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are second in the league in threes per game (9.3) and stand 9th in the league in three-point percentage (32.5%) on the year. Washington is in the middle of the pack at the charity stripe as they are fifth in the league by sinking 81.7% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne is currently still out as she continues her recovery from offseason back surgery. She is back practicing with the team. Zellous (ankle) is out indefinitely at this point in time.
Pick: Seattle Storm
Seattle was back at full strength on Friday and we saw them in form as they buried the Liberty in the second half. The Storm put up 85 and 79 points without Bird and Stewart, then piled up 99 with them back in the lineup Friday night. Washington has had serious problems on the defensive end of the floor and it’s going to be an uphill climb trying to slow the Storm down on that end of the floor. Meanwhile, the Mystics don’t have the offensive weapons that it takes to try and keep up with Seattle’s prolific attack. Charles does her part and puts up solid numbers but the depth and talent Seattle boasts is too much for the Mystics to handle in this one.
Total: Over
The Storm have split their 24 games on the season in relation to the total with 12 going over the mark and 12 staying short of the mark this season. With that said, each of Seattle’s three games coming out of the Olympic break have gone over the mark. Facing a Washington team that has defensive problems should make for another high-scoring affair for the Storm, who are second in the league in scoring offense this season. Washington has seen the over post a 13-8 mark in their 21 games on the season. The Mystics are 11th in field goal percentage defense (45.9%) and three-point field goal percentage defense (39.2%) this season. We saw the teams go over the mark in the first meeting this season as the teams combined for 170 points. This one is something similar and winds up over the total.
