The Phoenix Mercury are healthful for the to start with time this year soon after Brittney Griner and Rebecca Allen returned to action in the team’s upset win about Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.
Now, the Mercury locate them selves as slight favorites on the street towards the Dallas Wings, who are still down Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard and Jaelyn Brown due to injuries, which has led to a subpar 3-6 start off to 2024.
If there’s one particular matter going in the Wings’ favor, it’s that Phoenix has struggled on the street in 2024, going 1-5 straight up in six games. Can the now-healthy Mercury change that narrative about on Sunday?
Let us split down the odds, critical players to watch and a ideal wager for this Western Meeting clash.
Unfold
Moneyline
Whole
Odds by way of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Mercury Harm Report
Wings Injuries Report
Phoenix Mercury
Brittney Griner: Phoenix’s star middle returned from a toe injuries to make her 2024 time debut in a win around the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night. Griner looked like her regular self, scoring 11 factors, grabbing four boards and blocking a shot in just in excess of 21 minutes of motion. Griner offers the Mercury a legitimate presence in the center, and it permits them to transfer a single of their wonderful guards to the bench (in this case Sophie Cunningham), which offers them a large amount additional depth.
Dallas Wings
Arike Ogunbowale: With Sabally and Howard out, Arike Ogunbowale has a enormous load to have for the Dallas Wings. The star guard is averaging 26.6 factors per match – scoring 20 or a lot more in each individual matchup this time – but she enters Sunday’s recreation taking pictures just 36.4 % from the area.
The Wings have dropped 4 online games in a row, and they lack the offensive firepower immediately after Ogunbowale to compete with a thoroughly healthful Mercury crew in my eyes.
Even though Ogunbowale is scoring the ball at a significant rate, she’s not capturing it efficiently, and neither are the Wings as a total. They rank eighth in the league in successful discipline target proportion, and which is not the worst part of their superior numbers in 2024.
Dallas is also 10th in the league in defensive rating, which is a main worry provided the weapons (Griner, Diana Taurasi, Kahleah Copper) that the Mercury have on offense.
Now, I don’t want to act like Phoenix has been elite this time. It in fact ranks 11th in defensive ranking and 10th in net ranking in 2024, but we have to try to remember that two starters had been out for the very first 10 game titles of the period.
The very first sport they arrived again?
Phoenix instantly defeat the very best workforce in the Western Convention suitable now as a 5.5-place underdog.
The Mercury have some large wins (above Minnesota and Las Vegas) and their protection should increase with Griner defending the rim. Before Phoenix was running an extremely small 4-guard lineup.
I assume this is a buy small place on the Mercury in advance of oddsmakers know how deadly this staff can be at entire energy.
Pick: Mercury Moneyline (-120)
Odds refresh periodically and are topic to modify.
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Uncover Peter Dewey’s betting document in this article You can also stick to my every day performs on BetStamp in this article.
