The Wings are hosting the Mercury on Thursday for a regular season finale. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Phoenix is favored by 5.5 points and this game carries a total of 165.5 points.
Below, I break down the matchup between the Wings and the Mercury and give a pick for the game.
Wings vs. Mercury preview, prediction
To wrap up the regular season, the Wings and the Mercury will going head-to-head for the fourth and final time of the season. Phoenix leads this season series 2-1 with a 21.5-point margin of victory. With the Wings eliminated from the playoffs and the Mercury locked into the No. 4 seed, Thursday’s regular season finale is meaningless for both sides.
Sitting at the bottom of the standings at 9-34, Dallas hasn’t had much to play for quite sometime, so the team will likely treat Thursday as a normal game, with some of the younger players on the team possibly seeing more minutes than usual. As for Phoenix, the club likely will begin the game with its starters, but those key players like Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper shouldn’t see their usual workloads with nothing at stake. Thomas specifically has had a magical season, averaging 15.7 points, a league-high 9.3 assists and 9.0 rebounds per game. The veteran has racked up 352 assists this season, which is an all-time record for the WNBA.
With the Wings possibly treating this like a usual night of hoops and the Mercury conversely taking it easy, Paige Bueckers could be in store for a huge finish to her excellent rookie season. The UConn product is averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game and should be the unanimous pick to win Rookie of the Year.
The 23-year-old has been great vs. Phoenix this season, averaging 23 PPG in three matchups. She can move herself up the WNBA all-time rookie ranks tonight. Bueckers needs 15 points to move up to No. 3 in total points by a rookie in a season, and she needs five assists to move up to No. 3 in total assists by a rookie in a season. Bueckers likely knows these milestones are obtainable, so she should come out aggressive tonight.
Wings vs. Mercury pick, best bet
With the Wings at home and the Mecrury likely to treat this game like an exhibition with the playoffs beginning Sunday, Dallas winning this tilt is totally possible and appealing at +195 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Back in July, the Wings beat the Mercury by nine points, thanks to 23 points, five assists and four rebounds from Bueckers. We could see a similar outcome tonight.
