Phoenix (PK) at Washington - 4:05pm Pacific - Game #653-654
The defending champion Mercury have been a disappointment so far this season with top forward Penny Taylor opting to stay in Australia for at least the first half of the season. They have also had to adjust to a new coach and deal with injuries to #3 scorer Tangela Smith, top rookie La Toya Pringle, and reserve guard Derevjanik that left them badly lacking depth early on. All three players are now close to full strength and after a 1-5 start, Phoenix has won four of seven. They have also played the league's toughest schedule. The Mercury did not respond well in bad loss at New York on Sunday which followed an emotional overtime win and one of the longest plane rides any team in the league will ever see. The positives from that game are that no starter played more than 26 minutes and the team should have more focus than usual tonight. Washington has won three straight but a closer inspection shows significant flaws. Each of their last three opponents rank in the bottom fourth of the league and each played without a starter. Washington still averaged 20.33 turnovers in the three wins and the Mercury are a team that will make you pay for turnovers. In contrast to Phoenix, Washington has been able to mask deficiencies by playing the easiest schedule in the league (four games vs Atlanta and Houston who Phoenix has not played against once). Mystics top post McWilliams-Franklin dislocated her index finger on her shooting hand yesterday in practice and is likely to be less than 100% tonight. In first meeting, Washington shot over 60% from the field (including 11-16 from 3) but Phoenix still led by double digits for the majority of the game despite what the 5 point final margin indicates. Expect the Mercury to inch back into playoff contention with a road win tonight.
Play: Phoenix Mercury PK 1 UNIT
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