Friday night presents a nice situational spot for a betting angle on the Los Angeles Sparks vs. the Washington Mystics. Let’s breakdown the game below.
Sparks vs. Mystics prediction
The Sparks are now 3-3 on the season, but have won three of their last four, including two in a row heading into Friday night in Washington. Los Angeles is off its best win of the season, defeating the Aces in Las Vegas as eight-point road underdogs. It was a good revenge spot following a loss at home to the Aces earlier in the season, and Kelsey Plum seemed to take things personally against her former team.
Plum went off for 38 points in the win, and has been the key to the offense for the Sparks. She’s averaging 26.8 points and 6.3 assists for Los Angeles, and barely comes off the floor for this team. However, Plum suffered an ankle injury this week, and will miss some time, starting with Friday night’s game.
The Sparks are not a very deep team, as Rae Burrell was the only bench player to see double digit minutes in the win over Vegas. Expect Burrell to slot into the starting five for Plum on Friday, but that leaves the Sparks playing starters heavy minutes off a grueling win. This has the makings of a letdown spot for a team off a signature win, now trying to figure out their offense without the player who has the ball in her hands for the majority of the game.
The Mystics are also off to a 3-3 start, and have shown well in some big games. They took both the Liberty and Fever to overtime, splitting those games. This is a good spot to get a big home win over a team that they should catch off guard.
Sparks vs. Mystics Pick, Best Bet
This is more of a fade on the Sparks than it is backing the Mystics, but I see no red flags with Washington to keep me off that side of the game. This should be a very tough spot for Los Angeles to generate offense against what has been a solid Mystics’ defense, so I like Washington to find a way here at home.
