The Friday night WNBA slate will feature the Phoenix Mercury hitting the road to battle the Indiana Fever. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Ion.
Phoenix (12-10) is riding a three-game win streak heading into this showdown, last besting Dallas in a 100-84 victory on Wednesday. The Mercury shot an excellent 59% from the field as a team throughout the contest and that allowed for them to build a comfortable lead on the Wings in the second half. Kahleah Copper stepped up huge with 32 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the win.
Indiana (9-14) has hit another rough patch by dropping four of its last six games and was last bested by Washington 89-84 on Wednesday. Turnovers once again plagued the Fever in this setback as they trailed by 22 at one point and had to play catchup for virtually the entire game. Caitlin Clark did deliver a strong performance in the losing effort, providing 29 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, and five steals.
On the injury front, Diana Taurasi (leg) will miss her third straight game for the Mercury. Meanwhile, Temi Fagbenle (thumb) has once again been ruled out for the Fever.
Phoenix enters the game as a 2.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 175.5. The Mercury are listed as a -148 moneyline favorite, making the Fever a +124 underdog.
Mercury vs. Fever, 7:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Mercury -2.5
Phoenix has been rolling even with Taurasi sidelined and its offense has fueled this hotstreak. The Mercury have cracked 100 points in two of their last three games with shooting percentages above 54% in those contests. That doesn’t bode well for a Fever defense that is yielding 87.3 ppg and it should also be noted that the Mercury are 6-3 against the spread as a favorite this season. I’ll take the visitors to cover and keep their win streak going this evening.
Over/Under: Over 174.5
Indiana has been the second-most over friendly team in the league this season with an O/U record of 15-8. Given their vulnerabilities on defense, they’ve been forced into several high-scoring matchups this season and that may be the case again tonight when facing Copper and company. I’ll take the over here.