The Connecticut Sun will be taking on the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night. The Sun dismantled the Mercury 87-63 on Tuesday behind a triple-double from Alyssa Thomas. Connecticut now sits at 21-10, in the third seed.
Phoenix is currently on the outside looking in as the ninth seed, although they share a 13-18 record with the eighth-seeded New York Liberty. The Mercury hasn't been able to figure out the Sun as they now trail the season series two games to none.
"Back for Round [2] #4TheValley" - PhoenixMercury
The visiting Mercury have failed to cover five straight road games now after Tuesday's disappointing loss. On Tuesday, they couldn't get anything going offensively as they shot just 35.9% from the field and 6-for-27 from deep. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Sophie Cunningham both tallied 15 points, but it came on poor efficiency.
As a team, Phoenix scores the fifth-most points but also gives up the second-most. They do possess several solid scorers, but veteran Diana Taurasi is questionable for Thursday's game. She averages 16.7 on the year, and if she is absent Thursday, then her team will have an uphill battle.
Looking at Connecticut, they've now covered five straight games against under .500 teams. They'll look to pick up where they left off on Tuesday. Tuesday's win resulted from a balanced scoring attack, where seven players reached double digits. Twenty-four team assists were also impressive, with Alyssa Thomas recording 10 of them.
"2 triple-doubles in 1 season, and she isn’t done yet..." - ConnecticutSun
The Sun put on a defensive clinic against the Mercury, forcing 18 turnovers. If they can come out of the gates strong on defense again, they should have no issue sweeping the season series.
Phoenix Mercury vs. Connecticut Sun Match Details
Fixture: Phoenix Mercury @ Connecticut Sun
Date & Time: Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m EDT
Venue: Mohegan Sun Arena
Phoenix Mercury vs. Connecticut Sun Betting Odds
Phoenix Mercury vs. Connecticut Sun Betting Prediction
With Diana Taurasi's status up in the air, it'd be best to steer clear of betting on the spread at the moment. Even if she does play, though, Phoenix has had trouble scoring on the road lately. As a result, the under has hit in five of the last six road games for the Mercury. Expect a low output from the visitors once again on Thursday.
Prediction: Mercury Team Total Under 75.5 Points (-110)