Sunday’s four-game slate in the WNBA closes in Los Angeles with the Phoenix Mercury hitting the road to play the Los Angeles Sparks at 7 p.m. EST.
Los Angeles has struggled since losing Cameron Brink for the season, but it did pick up a thrilling overtime win against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night. That pushed the Sparks to 5-15 on the season, one game ahead of the Washington Mystics, who have the worst record in the WNBA.
Meanwhile the Mercury are back at .500 on the season, but they could be down several key players as Diana Taurasi has already been ruled out and starters Brittney Griner and Rebecca Allen are questionable.
Despite that, the Mercury are favored on the road against this struggling Los Angeles squad. How should we bet on Sunday’s matchup?
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Mercury Injury Report
Sparks Injury Report
Phoenix Mercury
Kahleah Copper: If Griner ends up sitting, the Mercury will need as much offense as possible from Copper, who was the team’s big ticket acquisition this past offseason. Copper is averaging 22.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3.
Los Angeles Sparks
Dearica Hamby: Hamby went off against her former team on Friday, scoring 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting while adding 14 rebounds. The two-time All-Star is averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field. She had 29 points in the last meeting with Phoenix back on June 28.
This is a tough matchup to handicap with the injury uncertainty for the Mercury, but I do lean towards the UNDER – especially if Griner is out.
Phoenix is losing a proven scorer in Taurasi no matter what, and it’s worth noting that the Sparks are just 10th in the WNBA in offensive rating this season and now don’t have Brink or Lexie Brown in the lineup.
The last time these teams played, they combined for 170 points, but the Mercury scored 92 of them, including 38 from Taurasi and Griner.
Even with Copper and Natasha Cloud on the roster, the Mercury don’t have immediate replacements for that kind of production.
Plus, both of these teams have hit the UNDER at a decent clip this season. Phoenix is 11-9 on UNDERs and the Sparks are 10-10 after hitting the OVER in a overtime win against the Aces.
I’ll take a shot that the injuries play a major role in the offensive production we get on Sunday night.
Pick: UNDER 167.5 (-110)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Find Peter Dewey’s WNBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
