Two teams coming off a loss try to get back on track this Sunday when the Phoenix Mercury and the Chicago Sky get entangled at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Will Phoenix right its ship after two-straight setbacks? Or will Chicago get back in the win column?
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There’s something wrong with Phoenix’s offense lately. The Mercury are the highest scoring team in the WNBA today with an average of 87.8 points per game, but has failed to generate more than 74 points in each of their last two contests, including their 78-60 home defeat at the hands of Indiana on Friday.
Phoenix did a bad job of taking care of the leather against Indiana, which mostly explains why the Mercury had such a bad night on offense. They committed 26 turnovers and took just 51 field goal attempts as against Indiana’s 68. Phoenix’s leading scorer Diana Taurasi (18.9 PPG) had 13 points but Brittney Griner only had five, the fewest she’s had since a four-point night against Minnesota on May 25.
Taurasi and Griner will have to produce better against this Sunday the Sky, whom Phoenix has already defeated earlier this season.
That was on June 12, when Taurasi exploded for 31 points on 8-for-18 shooting from the field with six three-pointers to lead Phoenix to an 86-80 win. Griner, meanwhile, had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Phoenix is 3-1 ATS in its last four road games.
Betting on the Chicago Sky
The struggling Sky fell down once again with an 88-85 loss to New York on Friday. They will try to avoid losing three-straight games when they host Phoenix this Sunday. Chicago is 5-5 SU in its last 10 games.
It was a sorry loss for Chicago, considering that Allie Quigley had an awesome shooting night, dropping 29 points off the bench. Nevertheless, it was the type of performance Elena Delle Donne hopes to see from the team’s supporting cast moving forward.
Delle Donne only had 14 points in the loss to the Liberty following back-to-back games in which she scored 38 and 28 points against Minnesota and Washington, respectively.
In the first meeting with Phoenix, Delle Donne put up 18 points and grabbed six boards. Thus far this season, she is averaging 21.0 PPG, second best in the league.
Chicago has to defend the three-ball better this time around against the Mercury, who launched 25 long balls and made nine. Conversely, Chicago went just 3-for-8 from deep, opting to take higher percentage shots. The Sky shot 31-for-66 (47.0%)from the field in that game. The Sky also need to play more honest on defense after they allowed Mercury go 29-for-34 from the foul line.
