Washington Mystics vs. Seattle Storm Prediction, Preview and Odds - 9/7/21
It’s an interconference contest on the parquet floor as a pair of teams on opposite sides of the WNBA playoff cut line take the floor in the Pacific Northwest. The Washington Mystics are on the road as they make the trip to face the Seattle Storm Tuesday night. Washington was dropped 93-75 on the road by Minnesota in their most recent contest Saturday night. Seattle knocked off New York 85-75 at home Thursday night in their latest action. The Storm have won six of the last 10 meetings between the teams but they split a pair of matchups this season. Seattle earned an 85-78 road victory in the most recent meeting August 22 after Washington picked up an 87-83 road win in the first meeting June 22.
Washington Mystics Trying to Climb Into Playoff Picture
Washington dropped their second straight and their seventh in the last nine games as they fell to Minnesota Saturday night. The Mystics enter this game 10-17 on the season and stood ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, percentage points behind the Liberty for the final playoff spot. On Saturday, Washington led by two late in the first quarter before giving up a 12-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to trail by 10. The Mystics trailed by as many as 23 in the first half and were down 15 at the half. Washington cut the deficit to two in the final minute of the third quarter before running out of steam. The Mystics gave up a 17-0 run spanning the end of the third and the start of the fourth quarter to go down 81-62 and never recovered. Washington shot 38.7% from the field, including four of 16 from three-point range, and allowed Minnesota to shoot 52.9% from the floor. Ariel Atkins led the Mystics with 25 points in the loss.
The Mystics are seventh in the league in scoring offense with an average of 80.1 points per contest this season. Washington comes in 11th in the league in rebounding (33.4 boards per game) and is 7th in assists by handing out 18.6 dimes a night. The Mystics are ninth in the league in scoring defense by allowing an average of 83.4 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 24.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest this season. Ariel Atkins is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 15.8 points a night. Erica McCall, Myisha Hines-Allen (13.8 points, 7.3 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 40.7% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are second in the league in threes per game (nine) and stand 10th in the league in three-point percentage (32.7%) on the year. Washington is in the middle of the pack at the charity stripe as they are sixth in the league by sinking 81.1% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne made her season debut against the Storm August 22 after recovering from offseason back surgery. She has missed the last three games after leaving a contest August 26 early and is questionable here. Hines-Allen missed Saturday’s game with a non-COVID-19 illness and is questionable as well.
Seattle Storm Looking to Relocate Early Season Groove
Seattle had dropped three straight and five of their previous seven games before knocking off New York on Thursday night at home. The Storm entered Monday 19-10 on the season and tied for third in the WNBA playoff picture, three games behind the league-leading Sun. On Thursday, Seattle trailed by five after the opening quarter and at the half before cutting the deficit to one after three quarters. In the final stanza, the Storm trailed by three with 7:30 to play before going on a 10-0 run to take a 75-68 lead with 3:18 to go. Seattle didn’t let the Liberty closer than four after that. The Storm shot 47.6% from the field, despite going two of 14 from three-point range, but cashed in 23 of 26 free throw attempts in the victory. Breanna Stewart led Seattle with 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 84.9 points per game. Seattle is fifth in rebounding (36.2 boards per contest) and is second in the league in assists by dishing out 21.2 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 7th in scoring defense as they allow 80.5 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists) and Sue Bird (10.3 points, 5.4 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 44.6% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is third in the league in three-point field goals made per game (8.4) and first in three-point percentage as they knock down 37.4% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are above average at the line, ranking second in the league by converting 83.8% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant. Canada (knee) missed Thursday’s game and is questionable here.
Pick: Seattle Storm
Charles returned for Washington in their loss Saturday after missing the last four games with a hip issue. That didn’t help the Mystics as they were blown out early and didn’t have an answer when Minnesota punched back with their fourth quarter run. Seattle bounced back from a pair of losses to Chicago by dropping New York as Stewart stepped up with a big showing when her team needed her the most. The Storm are the better team and they are deeper, not to mention healthier, than the Mystics. Throw in that Washington is just 3-10 on the road this season and you have to think the Mystics are in trouble. Give the edge to Seattle here at home as they make it back-to-back wins.
Total: Under
Washington has gone over the mark in their last two games but before that, they had turned in five straight unders. On the season, the Mystics have seen the over hit in 15 of their 27 games but the fact that Delle Donne, along with Hines-Allen, are both question marks could impact their production. Seattle has seen the under hit in 16 of their 29 games on the year. The Storm have turned in four unders in their last five games entering this contest. We’ve seen the under hit in seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams, though they’ve split two meetings this season in regards to the total. Look for this one to end up falling short of the total.
