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The No. 2 seed in the WNBA standings is still up for grabs as the Connecticut Sun continue their West Coast Trip against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.
These teams have played three times this season with the Sun going 3-0, and the Mercury have fallen to two games under .500 and hold the No. 7 seed with just four games to play in the regular season.
Can Phoenix turn things around as a home underdog tonight?
Here’s a look at the odds, key players to watch and my prediction for what could be a first-round matchup in the WNBA playoffs.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Sun Injury Report
Mercury Injury Report
Connecticut Sun
Alyssa Thomas: A point forward, Thomas is a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams, especially the Mercury, who like to play small. Thomas isn’t going to put up massive scoring numbers – she’s averaging just 10.5 points per game this season – but she orchestrates the CT offense and will crash the glass as well. She has flirted with a triple-double in two of the three games between these teams in 2024.
Phoenix Mercury
Diana Taurasi: In what may be her last season, Taurasi is still a productive player, averaging 15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game at 42 years of age. She’s struggled against CT this season, scoring just six points in both of the matchups she played in.
Connecticut is a 5.5-point favorite on the road in this one, but it has given Phoenix some major trouble this season, winning by 23 and 27 points at home and 11 points on the road in their three meetings.
This game simply is a matchup nightmare for the Mercury if they aren’t able to get out and run – something Connecticut almost refuses to do this season.
The Sun play three bigs – Brionna Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas – which is a matchup nightmare for the guard-heavy Mercury.
Not only that, but Connecticut has the best defensive rating in the WNBA and plays at the slowest pace. It will do everything it can to grind this game to a halt and beat the Mercury in the painted area.
Phoenix is just 8-12 against the spread as an underdog this season, and it has the fourth worst net rating in the WNBA since the Olympic break.
I’ll gladly lay the points with the Sun on Friday.
Pick: Suns -5.5 (-110)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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