After a fun All-Star weekend we’re right back in the swing of things. With the Mystics hosting the Sparks tonight, this should be a good matchup for two teams with growing aspirations.
Cameron Brink Out
Sika Kone Out
This will be a close match between two tough teams. Even with Brinks' absence looming over the Sparks, this team has had some brief moments of success this year. Plum has done a great job of helping the team win, and while their overall record is 8-14, they are 3-2 in their last five games and improving steadily. Their last game before the break was against the Mystics, so this is a quick rematch. A dominant win in this game could boost LA's confidence, even though they’ll be on the road.
The Mystics have experienced more success sitting at 11-11, but there's something uninspiring about this team. They’ve defeated talented teams like the Storm, Lynx, and Aces, yet they struggle to move beyond a 500 record. Each time they beat a strong team, they tend to lose to a middling one. This persistent inconsistency currently hampers the roster. It makes sense given their scoring situation. Sykes has kept the team afloat, but with her as the leading scorer, you can’t rely on her to dominate every night. Beyond Sykes, the scoring drops off with Citron and Austin. With such a limited group of scorers, the Mystics rank third to last in the league for points per game. Their defense has held up, but eventually, the ball needs to go through the hoop. When it comes to trending teams, the Mystics aren’t high on my list.
The Sparks, despite their faults and issues, do have the talent to make this a tough game for the Mystics. We saw that in their last game, which ended in nearly a 20-point loss for DC. Behind Plum and Hamby, the Sparks run circles around the Mystics in scoring. This game will primarily be about the Mystics' scoring. I don’t have high hopes that the Mystics can turn it around compared to their last game. I think the Sparks will take this one on the road, so I’m going with the Sparks moneyline, the under on the 167.5 points total, and the LA spread at +3.
Money line: LAS (+136) / WAS (-162)
Total Points: 167.5
Spread: +3 LAS (-110) / -3 WAS (-110)
Plum has been on a hot streak lately. She’s scored over 20 points in seven of her last ten games, with her most recent game against Washington finishing with 20 points. With the line set at 18.5 and plus odds, this looks like one of the better bets tonight.
Even with Stevens having a solid run into the All-Star break, the nine-rebound market hasn’t been very consistent. Averaging 8.7 boards a game this year, she’s doing well, but in 12 out of 22 games she hasn't gotten nine. Even though that’s just under 50%, I still think the under is the better choice tonight. Considering her last game against the Mystic before the break, she finished with only 8 boards.
Sykes has been one of those feast-or-famine type of players. She’s capable of scoring 30 in any given night, then the next ending with 7. With her only dropping 8 points in their last game against LA, she is liable to just disappear. Shot volume is going to be the key tonight. She fluctuates from 24 shots in a night down to 8. With her recent volume trending back down, I don’t think we’ll see a massive scoring night out of her.