New York Liberty at Phoenix Mercury
September 23, 2021 10:00 pm EDT
The Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty face off in Round 1 of the WNBA playoffs on Thursday at GCU Arena. The Liberty won the first game against the Mercury this season, but Phoenix has won the last two games. In the last game, Phoenix won 80-64.
The Phoenix Mercury currently sit with a 19-13 record overall which puts them in 4th place in the Western Conference. The Mercury have found a lot of success this season, but they have struggled as of late losing three games in a row. In the last game against the Las Vegas Aces, the Mercury were competitive, but they were defeated by a point. The offense did score 83 points in that game. Phoenix is averaging 82.1 points while their defense is giving up 79.5 points per game. Brittney Griner has been the best player for Phoenix averaging 20.5 points while shooting 57.5 percent from the field.
On the other side of this matchup is the New York Liberty who have a 12-20 record overall which puts them in 4th place in the Eastern Conference. This is a talented Liberty roster but they haven’t lived up to the expectations. In the last game against Washington, Liberty’s offense was strong, scoring 91 points. The Liberty on the season is averaging 78.5 points per game while their defense is giving up 85.5 points per game. Betnijah Laney has been the best player for the Liberty averaging 16.8 points while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from the deep.
The Mercury haven’t looked good the last couple of games, and the Liberty are going to run up the score in this game. The Mercury’s defense can’t be trusted, and New York will cover the spread.
