Seattle Storm vs. Phoenix Mercury
May 11, 2022 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Phoenix +4.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm face off on Wednesday in a WNBA showdown at the Footprint Center. When these two teams faced off on April 28th in the preseason, it was the Storm that secured the 82-78 victory.
The Storm has played two games to start the season, and they currently sit with a 1-1 record. In the first game of the season, they beat the Minnesota Lynx 97-74. In the second game against the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle didn’t look as good, and they were defeated 85-74. The Storm wants to play at a fast pace, but they proved in the second game that maybe their defense isn’t all that good, actually. In the 4th quarter of the last game, Seattle was outscored 27-15. The top offensive player for the Storm has been Breanna Stewart, who is averaging 19 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Jewell Lloyd is also having a big season, averaging 18 points. Seattle’s offensive rating is 106.3 which is 4th in the WNBA, while their defensive rating is 100.7 which is 5th in the league.
On the other side of this matchup is the Phoenix Mercury, who could have a trying season, and they lost their first game of the season. One of the big problems for this team on the court is they were without Brittney Griner who is still detained in Russia. In the first game of the season against the Las Vegas Aces, they were defeated 106-88. At the end of the first quarter, they were down 31-17, and they weren’t ever able to bounce back as they were defeated. The Mercury were led by Skylar Diggins Smith, who finished the first game with 25 points and three rebounds. Shey Peddy has also scored 16 points, two assists, and one rebound.
Without Grinner, the Storm are the better team, and they already knocked off the Mercury 82-78 in the preseason. The Mercury gave up 106 points in the first game of the season, and Seattle is going to find success in this game. Look for Seattle to run up the score, and that is going to be the difference as Seattle gets the job done here. Back Seattle against the spread.
