The Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury meet Thursday in WNBA action at the IMG Academy.
The Chicago Sky look for a statement victory to build on their solid 4-1 WNBA start. The Chicago Sky are averaging 87 points on 48.6 percent shooting and allowing 82.4 points on 43.6 percent shooting. Azura Stevens is averaging 14.2 points and 1.4 assists while Kahleah Copper is averaging 14 points and 4.2 rebounds. Cheyenne Parker is the third double-digit scorer and Allie Quigley is dishing 2.6 assists. The Chicago Sky are shooting 398.8 percent from beyond the arc and 75 percent from the free throw line. The Chicago Sky are allowing 33.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.8 rebounds per game.
The Phoenix Mercury look for a victory to build on their 3-2 start to the WNBA season. The Phoenix Mercury are averaging 91 points on 47.5 percent shooting and allowing 88.2 points on 44.6 percent shooting. Bria Hartley is averaging 18.2 points and four rebounds while Brittney Griner is averaging 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. Diana Taurasi is the third double-digit scorer and Skylar Diggins-Smith is dishing 4.2 assists. The Phoenix Mercury are shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and 75.8 percent from the free throw line. The Phoenix Mercury are allowing 33.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 34.2 rebounds per game.
The Sky are 14-3-1 ATS in their last 18 games following a ATS loss and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite. The Mercury are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games playing on 1 days rest and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The over is 19-5-2 in Sky last 26 overall. The over is 5-2 in Mercury last 7 overall. The Sky are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Phoenix and 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
I mentioned from the beginning that the Sky are title contenders this season and they’ve been incredible through five games. With that said, the Mercury are starting to find their way the last couple of games and the defense has improved. The Mercury aren’t a team you want to just give points to with the combination of scoring talent and experience on this roster, as they can beat anybody in the league any given night. I’ll take the free bucket.