Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix Mercury
June 21, 2022 10:00 pm EDT
The Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx face off on Tuesday in a WNBA showdown at the Footprint Center. When these two faced off in July 2021 it was the Lynx that were able to secure the 99-68 victory.
The Mercury comes into this game with a 6-10 record overall, but they are coming off a disappointing loss in their last game. The offense scored 88 points, but the defense gave up 93 points, and that led to the defeat. Two games ago, against the Indiana Fever, the Mercury scored 93 points. The Mercury are averaging 82.1 points, while their defense is giving up 86.1 points per game. Skylar-Diggins Smith is having a big season, averaging 18.3 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
On the other side of this matchup is the Lynx, who sit with a 3-13 record overall, and they are coming off another disappointing loss against the Las Vegas Aces. At halftime of the last game against the Aces, the Lynx were up 50-39, but again in the second half, they couldn’t hold on and were defeated by a point. The offense did score 95 points in the game. The Lynx are averaging 78.4 points, while their defense is giving up 84.9 points per game. The Lynx’s offense and defense are both ranked 9th in the league. Sylvia Fowles is still dealing with a knee injury, and it’s unclear if she’s going to be able to go in this game. Kayla McBride is having a nice season, averaging 14.2 points while shooting 40 percent from the field.
Even when the Lynx get out to big leads, they seem to blow it late, and that has really hurt the morale of this team. The Lynx’s defense has been awful, giving up 84.9 points per game, and Phoenix is going to have no issue running up the score here. The Lynx aren’t going to score enough, and that will be the difference as Phoenix covers the spread.
