Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury (9-21) go up against Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty (24-7) on August 18, 2023 at Footprint Center.
Before you place an informed wager on the matchup, take a loot at the best bets available in Friday’s game according to our computer predictions.
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Spread: Mercury (-12) to Cover
- The model and DraftKings both have the Liberty taking home the win, but the model has them winning by slightly less (10.0 points). Lean towards taking the Mercury.
- The Mercury have a 9-18-0 record against the spread this season.
- Phoenix is 1-3 against the spread when an underdog by 12 points or more this season.
- So far this season, the Liberty have compiled an 11-17-0 record against the spread.
- In games this season it was favored by 12 points or more, New York has a 3-6 record against the spread.
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Total: Over 163.5
- The model predicts a total 1.7 points higher than the one set by DraftKings for this game.
- The Liberty and their opponent have combined to score over 163.5 points, the current matchup’s point total, in 18 of 28 games this year.
- This year, 11 of Phoenix’s 27 games have had a combined total of more than 163.5 points scored.
- The teams have hit the over in 15 of the Liberty’s 27 games with a set total.
- A total of 12 of the Mercury’s 27 games with a set total have hit the over (44.4%).
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Moneyline Winner: Liberty (-900)
- Prediction: Liberty 88, Mercury 78
- New York has compiled a 20-5 record in games when it was favored on the moneyline (winning 80% of those games).
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Liberty Leaders
- The scoring and rebounding leader for the Liberty is Stewart, who accumulates 22.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
- Courtney Vandersloot leads New York in assists, averaging 8.0 per game while also scoring 10.0 points per contest.
- Sabrina Ionescu makes more threes per game than any other member of the Liberty, knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a clip of 3.7 per contest.
- Stewart is New York’s leader in steals and blocks, racking up 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
Liberty Injuries
| Name | Game Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Stefanie Dolson | Out | Ankle |
Mercury Leaders
- Griner is at the top of the Mercury scoring leaderboard with 17.9 points per game. She also collects 7.0 rebounds and averages 2.1 assists per game.
- The Phoenix leaders in rebounding and assists are Brianna Turner with 6.1 rebounds per game (he also adds 3.5 points and 1.4 assists per game) and Sug Sutton with 4.6 assists per game (he also tacks on 7.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game).
- Diana Taurasi is the top shooter from the three-point line for the Mercury, hitting 2.7 threes per game.
- Moriah Jefferson (1.2 steals per game) is the steal leader for Phoenix while Griner (1.7 blocks per game) is the block leader.
Mercury Injuries
| Name | Game Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Skylar Diggins-Smith | Out | Personal |
All stats in this article refer to the 2023 regular season.
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