Los Angeles Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury Prediction, 7/9/2023 WNBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Los Angeles Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury

Date: Sunday, July 9, 2023

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: Youtube TV

The Los Angeles Sparks (7-11) are headed to Footprint Center on Sunday where they'll meet the Phoenix Mercury (3-13).

The Los Angeles Sparks took the court against the Atlanta Dream and went home with a loss by a final score of 90-79 in their last contest. Los Angeles walked away from the game with a 42.6% field goal percentage (29 of 68) and converted 6 out of their 22 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Sparks knocked down 15 of their 22 shots for a rate of 68.2%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned 33 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 20 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 3 steals. With respect to the defense, Los Angeles allowed their opponent to shoot 49.3% from the floor on 33 of 67 shooting. Atlanta recorded 3 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Atlanta snagged 39 rebounds (3 offensive, 36 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Atlanta finished the contest at 60.9% from the free throw line by converting 14 of their 23 attempts. They also made 10 of 24 attempts from 3-point range.

Nneka Ogwumike is one player who came through for this game. She accumulated 19 points on 7 out of 16 shooting. She was on the hardwood for 30 minutes played and also totaled 10 rebounds. Ogwumike finished 43.8% from the floor and also dished out 3 dimes.

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Los Angeles comes into this game with a mark of 7-11 so far this season. They average 78.9 points per game (10th in the WNBA) while going 42.1% from the field. The Sparks are shooting 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc (112 of 357) and 80.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Los Angeles is collecting 32.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 345 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 4th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 12.7 times per game and as a team they commit 18.1 fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Sparks are forcing 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. The Sparks defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 45.6% (257 of 335) and they relinquish 35.7 boards per game as a team. They are 9th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 345 relinquished for the campaign. They relinquish 32.3% on shots from downtown and they rank 6th in the WNBA in PPG allowed (81.6).

In their last game, the Phoenix Mercury took a loss by a score of 99-95 when they faced the New York Liberty. The Mercury were able to snag 22 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards totaling 25 in this game. They also turned it over 15 times, while earning 7 steals in the matchup. The Liberty committed 20 personal fouls in this game which took the Mercury to the free throw line for 22 tries. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throws for a percentage of 81.8%. In regard to 3-pointers, Phoenix made 9 of 20 attempts (45.0%). Overall, the Mercury ended up going 34 for 67 from the floor which had them shooting 50.7%. The Mercury permitted the Liberty to make 32 out of 65 tries from the field which had them shooting 49.2% for this contest. They finished 44.0% from three-point range by shooting 11 out of 25 and finished the game at 24 out of 28 from the free throw line (85.7%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Phoenix allowed New York to pull down 30 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Diana Taurasi ended up being important for the Mercury in the game. She converted 6 of 13 for this contest giving her a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and earned 5 rebounds. Taurasi recorded 23 points in her 28 minutes of playing time and tallied 7 dimes for this contest.

Phoenix has a win-loss record of 3-13 for the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Mercury are hitting on 45.3% from the field, which is 3rd in the WNBA. Phoenix has totaled 1,244 points for the year (77.8 per game) and they snag 29.1 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 20.1 times per game (5th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 16.1 times per game. The Mercury are committing 20.5 personal fouls per game and they shoot 79.0% from the free throw line. The Mercury are ranked 11th in the league in points per game surrendered with 86.6. They are forcing 12.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (8th in basketball). The Phoenix defense surrenders 34.6% on 3-point attempts (126 of 364) and opponents are making 82.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 20.9 assists and 34.6 boards on a nightly basis, which is 11th and 7th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's WNBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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