The Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces meet Saturday in game 2 of the WNBA Playoffs First Round at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Phoenix Mercury need a win to save their season and force a game 3 on Tuesday. The Las Vegas Aces are riding a 4-game winning streak.
The Phoenix Mercury are averaging 63 points on 30.7 percent shooting and allowing 79 points on 40.6 percent shooting. Diamond DeShields is averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Sophie Cunningham is averaging 12 points and 4 rebounds. Megan Gustafson is the third double-digit scorer and Kaela Davis is grabbing 1 rebound. The Phoenix Mercury are shooting 27.8 percent from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent from the free throw line. The Phoenix Mercury are allowing 32.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 38 rebounds per game.
The Las Vegas Aces are averaging 79 points on 40.6 percent shooting and allowing 63 points on 30.7 percent shooting. Kelsey Plum is averaging 22 points and 5 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray is averaging 17 points and 4 rebounds. Jackie Young is the third double-digit scorer and Kiah Stokes is grabbing 13 rebounds. The Las Vegas Aces are shooting 32.1 percent from beyond the arc and 100 percent from the free throw line. The Las Vegas Aces are allowing 27.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42 rebounds per game.
The Mercury are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Aces are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 home games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The under is 6-2 in Mercury last 8 overall. The under is 10-4 in Aces last 14 overall. The Mercury are 10-2 ATS in the last 12 meetings in Las Vegas and 12-5-1 ATS in the last 18 meetings.
The Phoenix Mercury were already without Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi, but now Shey Peddy suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in their game 1 loss. It's extremely difficult to ask the Mercury to be competitive in this spot when they're playing with pretty much their entire starting lineup when you throw in no Tina Charles or Brittney Griner. The line is massive, but for good reason. I have no choice but to side with the Las Vegas Aces in a comfortable home victory to advance to the next round.
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
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