Phoenix Mercury vs Connecticut Sun Prediction, 5/16/2021 WNBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Phoenix Mercury vs Connecticut Sun

Date: Sunday, May 16, 2021

Location: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT

TV: CBS Sports Network

The Phoenix Mercury (13-9 last year) go to Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday where they'll meet the Connecticut Sun (10-12 last season).

The Phoenix Mercury faced off with the Minnesota Lynx and took a loss by a final of 80-79 in their last contest. Phoenix wrapped up the contest with a 44.8% FG percentage (30 out of 67) and knocked down 11 of 30 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Mercury knocked down 8 of 10 tries for a percentage of 80.0%. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they earned 34 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 23 assists for this game as well as forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about defending, Phoenix allowed the other team to go 47.1% from the field on 32 out of 68 shooting. Minnesota doled out 5 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. Additionally, Minnesota snagged 29 rebounds (5 offensive, 24 defensive) and earned 1 block. Minnesota walked away from this one shooting 81.8% from the free throw line by making 9 of their 11 attempts. They also converted 7 of 17 tries from downtown.

Diana Taurasi is someone who played a role for the contest. She had 28 points on 9 of 20 shooting. She played for 35:12 minutes played and snagged 4 rebounds. Taurasi finished the contest at 45.0% from the field and totaled 9 assists. One more player that was a determining factor in the game for the Mercury was Brianna Turner. She grabbed 14 rebounds in her 38:30 minutes played. She finished 100.0% from the floor for the matchup via 6-of-6 (13 points). When the game finished, Turner accounted for 3 assists.

Phoenix comes into this game after finishing with a mark of 13-9 last season. They lost possession via turnover 14.0 times per contest and as a unit committed 19.7 personal fouls per game. As a team, Phoenix pulled in 34.0 boards per game and earned 448 dimes last year, which ranked 4th in basketball in terms of passing. The Mercury shot 34.3% on three-point shots (185 of 540) and 82.5% from the charity stripe. They averaged 86.1 points per contest (4th in the league) while connecting on 45.0% from the floor. On defense, the Mercury were able to force their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.1 personal fouls. The Mercury gave up a shooting percentage of 42.5% (663 of 1,559) and they conceded 36.0 boards per game as a unit. They were 3rd in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 402 surrendered last season. They relinquished 34.4% on shots from downtown while they were 8th in basketball in points per game allowed (84.1).

When they last played, the Connecticut Sun went home defeated by a final of 66-63 against the Las Vegas Aces. The Sun pulled down 26 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this game. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while earning 14 steals for the contest. The Aces committed 15 fouls in this game which got the Sun to the charity stripe for a total of 9 shots. They were able to bury 8 of them for a percentage of 88.9%. In terms of shooting from 3-point land, Connecticut buried 3 out of 19 tries (15.8%). In all, the Sun shot 26 for 71 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.6%. The Sun allowed the Aces to make 22 of 62 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 35.5% in the matchup. They went 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 3 of 9 and ended up shooting 19 out of 22 at the charity stripe (86.4%). Regarding how they attacked the glass, Connecticut allowed Las Vegas to snag 41 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

Alyssa Thomas ended up having an impact for the Sun in this contest. She converted 11 of 18 in the game giving her a field goal percentage of 61.1%, and added 10 rebounds. Thomas accumulated 22 points in her 39:49 mins of playing time and accumulated 3 assists in this contest. One more player who came through for Connecticut was DeWanna Bonner. She ended up walking away with 6 assists in her 36:59 minutes played, and she put in 4 out of 13 from the floor. Bonner walked away from this one going 30.8% from the field while also collecting 15 points and 8 total rebounds.

Connecticut had a record of 10-12 last year. Connecticut accumulated 1,768 pts last season (80.4 per contest) and they averaged 35.5 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Sun shot 42.7% from the field, which ranked 10th in the league. The Sun were responsible for committing 18.8 personal fouls per contest while shooting 75.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates was at 18.3 times per game (9th in the league) and they turned the ball over 13.3 times per contest. The Sun on defense were ranked 2nd in basketball in PPG given up with 79.9. They were able to force 15.0 turnovers per game and allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (4th in basketball). The Connecticut defense allowed 33.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (150 of 455) and opponents converted on 81.9% of their free throw shots. They relinquished 18.4 assists and 33.0 rebounds per contest, which ranked them 4th and 5th in basketball.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Connecticut

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