Washington Mystics (-17, -105)
Las Vegas Aces
Total: 157
Welcome to the WNBA, Vegas! A rude awakening was given to the Aces on Sunday as they were on the wrong end of a 101-65 beatdown at the hands of the Connecticut Sun. That said, let’s not ignore the extreme factors that went into that game. Vegas was without Kelsey Plum, Kayla McBride and Isabelle Harrison as all three were finishing their overseas obligations, and Moriah Jefferson is still nursing a knee injury. Tamera Young was a bright spot with her 23 points and A’ja Wilson put up a double-double (14 and 10) in her first career game. It really isn’t fair to breakdown the Aces based on playing without so many important pieces, but it does make it tricky when they get this many points.
The Mystics were unspectacular in their win over the Fever, but they helped hit the over (despite not covering the 12 point spread). Last year, I picked the over in pretty much every Mystics game simply due to the fact that they shoot a lot of threes (second most made threes in the league last year) and Elena Delle Donne can go off at any time. The Mystics hit 11 threes on Sunday, but only hauled in five offensive rebounds, a number you would like to see go up if you want them to score more. Krystal Thomas, who emerged as one of the more underrated rebounders last year, was in foul trouble which hurt, and LaToya Sanders would be a welcomed addition once she is healthy.
17 is so many points but without most of their core lineup, I’m still going to give it. I’ll take Washington and the over.