Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces
August 20, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Aces -16 / Total: 167
(Get latest betting odds)
The Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury face off on Saturday in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series at Michelob ULTRA Arena. On Wednesday, the Aces scored 79 points and that led to the 16-point victory.
In the third quarter, the two teams only combined for 18 points, and that killed any hope for the over. The final score looked like an easy win for the Aces, but it was really a close game until the 4th quarter, when Las Vegas outscored Phoenix 28-17. Kelsey Plum was the top player for the Aces, putting up 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Diamond DeShields was the top player for the Mercury, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Las Vegas is averaging 90.4 points, while their defense is giving up 84.1 points per game. The offense is ranked 1st in the league, while their defense is ranked 9th in the league. Kelsey Plum has been the top player for Las Vegas, averaging 20.2 points while shooting 46 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the three-point line.
On the other side of this matchup is the Mercury, and they are dealing with a bunch of injuries right now. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi are the two-star players of this team, but both are not with the team because of injuries. The Mercury are averaging 81.1 points, while their defense is giving up 84.1 points per game. The offense is ranked 7th in the league, while their defense is ranked 9th in the league. Diamond DeShields is the top offensive player for the Mercury, averaging 13.1 points while shooting 38.8 percent from the field. In this game, if Phoenix wants to get the job done, they are going to need to have more consistent offense from the entire team.
The Aces scored 79 points in the first game, and I expect they are going to have no issue running up the score again in this game. Look for Las Vegas to get closer to the 100-point mark again in this game, and the Mercury just doesn’t have enough offense to keep this game close. Look for 100-80 types of game and that is going to be the difference as Las Vegas gets the job done. Back the Aces against the spread.
