Mercury And Wings Won't Bother With Defense Tonight

Mercury vs. Wings, 8:00 ET

Yesterday marked the third time this season that I've been very confident in a baseball game and it also marks the third time that I've lost three plays on the same game. The first time really was a gut punch as it came on a last second homer that resulted in three wins going to three losses. It was unique, to say the least. Yesterday's game also was lost due to a couple of homers that swung the game in a way that I didn't like. These things happen, but today I'm going to just do one MLB, and go back to something that has seen just one loss for Outick (and we won the other play) in articles that I've written. The record is just a short 6-1, but we put that on the line tonight as we take on the Mercury vs. Wings. 

Almost every team in every sport goes through some sort of streak. Stretches where they play really well, and stretches where they look like they couldn't win against college-level competition. The Mercury started the season looking like they could be a legitimate playoff team and one that could be a rather tough out. They raced out of the gate to a 3-1 record, and even beat the Aces in the process (the only loss was also to the Aces, but they were very close to pulling off that upset). Then they lost five of the next six before winning four of the next five. Right now they have lost three of their past four games. The team does have Brittney Griner back and she has made an immediate impact. Let's put aside the political conversation around her for a moment and focus on what she has done in nine games back. In her games, hs has put up 20 points per game with almost seven rebounds and a block in 30 minutes of work. Their best player has been guard Kahleah Copper. Copper came over to the Mercury from the Chicago Sky in the offseason and has made an immediate impact with 21.8 points per game. If you haven't watched her play, she is the best finisher in the game. She makes very acrobatic layups and I mean this in the least sexist way as possible, but her layup package is most similar to a man's that I've seen in the WNBA. The team also has Diana Taurasi still making an impact in her 20th season, at the age of 42. She is shooting threes at a 35.5% clip which is just under her 36.2 career percentage. 

Brittney Griner wins the 2023 AP Comeback Player of the Year award. (Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Dallas Wings are one of the worst teams in the league. They currently sit at 4-15 and are 2-5 at home. They have lost four of their past five games, but their only win came at home against a good Minnesota Linx team. Zooming out, they won three of their first five games, and that included a victory at the Mercury. After starting the season 3-2, they then lost 11 straight games and now 13 of their past 14 games. They did have nine of those 14 games on the road, so perhaps that was part of the issue with their struggle. The team has talent, but for whatever reason, the success isn't coming the way you'd expect. They have six players averaging 10 or more points per game, but that is a bit misleading because guard Odyssey Sims and forward Natasha Howard have played fewer than 10 games this season. Maybe now that Howard is in the lineup regularly, the team will start to adjust and find their winning ways once again. This is the third time that the two teams have played this season. The first game, as mentioned, was taken by the Wings. they beat the Mercury by 15. In the second game, the Mercury got a bit of revenge, winning 97-90 in double overtime. Howard was not available for either game. 

The spread for this one is interesting as I do think the Wings could potentially cover or even win this game. Both games flew over today's posted total of 170.5 but the problem is the second game went to double overtime. There were 31 points scored in overtime periods. If the game ended in regulation, we would be at 156. In their past four losses, they've allowed 92 or more points. Even in their one win, they allowed 88 points to the Linx. I think the best route to take in this game is the over. The Wings are expected to lose, and that usually means 90+ points from one team. The Mercury aren't that great at defense, and have already allowed 197 points to their opponent in two games. Back the over. 

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