We’re out of the WNBA All-Star break, and it’s time for the stretch run of the regular season. The Golden State Valkyries are surging towards a second straight playoff appearance and one of the top seeds in the league, while the Phoenix Mercury continue to head towards disaster. With the trade deadline right around the corner, it’s the last chance for GMs around the league to gauge their need for moves, which places extra drama on top of this matchup.
The Valkyries enter as 5.5-point road favorites with -229 Moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Mercury are +186 underdogs with the game total set at 155.5 points. Let’s dive into a preview, prediction, and pick for this Valkyries-Mercury matchup.
Valkyries at Mercury Prediction, Preview
This could be a very interesting week for the Golden State Valkyries. At 19-8, they’re 2.5 games back of the Minnesota Lynx for the top seed in the league and are in a tight race with the Las Vegas Aces and Dallas Wings nipping at their heels. They have arguably the best defense in the league, but outside of three-point shooting, the offense is struggling to keep its head above water. That formula has worked in the regular season, but when the playoff come, they’ll need a little bit more juice offensively. Perhaps GM Nyanin Ohemaa will look to the trade market to give them a boost.
Even without that boost, they’re a dangerous team. Veronica Burton gives them drives and drives and drives; Gabby Williams knows how to get to her spots, and Janelle Salaün has proven to be a potent bench scorer. They’re also getting a lot of production from Kaitlyn Chen. With the entire team pulling weight on defense, it’s a very difficult group to pick apart. A fence is at its strongest when none of the links are weak.
For the Phoenix Mercury, things aren’t going so hot. After making the WNBA Finals last season, they’ve been in free fall and will surely be lottery-bound this year. It leaves them in a weird spot as a team full of veterans struggling on both ends of the floor. Will they choose to shake things up in a big way at the deadline? For now, they’ll continue to struggle in every area that isn’t Kahleah Copper getting buckets or Alyssa Thomas playing rotational defense.
Now that we know these teams a bit better, who is going to pull out the win, and how should we bet this game?
Valkyries at Mercury Pick, Best Bet
I don’t place a lot of faith in this Mercury defense (nor the offense, for that matter), but the Valkyries thrive at putting teams in rotation and turning a good shot into a great shot. That’s the kind of game Alyssa Thomas loves to play defensively. Golden State won’t have that A+ offensive game, but this defense will absolutely smother Phoenix, resulting in a low-scoring road win.
