Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/23/21
There's an early-season matchup on the hardwood in the Hoosier State between a pair of Eastern Conference teams. The Washington Mystics are on the road as they make the trip to face the Indiana Fever Sunday afternoon. Washington earned their first win of the season as they hammered the previously unbeaten Liberty 101-72 at home Friday night. Indiana was dropped 83-79 at home by Atlanta in their last game Friday night to remain winless on the season. Last season, the teams split two meetings with the Fever taking a 91-84 win as the home team in the bubble in the last matchup on August 9, 2020. Before that, the Mystics had won nine straight meetings between the teams.
Washington Mystics Hope to Even Record
Washington dropped their first two games of the season as they struggled offensively but broke out in a big way in a win over the previously unbeaten Liberty. The Mystics piled up nearly as many points (101) as they had in the first two games combined (126) this season. Against New York, Washington closed the first quarter on a 16-1 run to take a 14-point lead after the opening quarter. The Mystics saw their lead trimmed to two with 3:50 to play in the first half before extending to a six-point edge at the half. Washington opened the second half with an 18-5 run to go up 70-51 and didn’t look back. The Mystics shot 47.3% from the field, including 16 of 31 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 42-28. Tina Charles led the way with 34 points and nine rebounds to lead Washington in the victory.
The Mystics are ninth in the league in scoring offense with an average of 75.7 points per contest this season. Washington comes in fourth in the league in rebounding (40 boards per game) and is 11th in assists by handing out 16 dimes a night. The Mystics are sixth in the league in scoring defense by allowing an average of 80.5 points a contest. Tina Charles leads the Mystics with 23.3 points and nine rebounds per contest this season. Natasha Cloud is one of two other players scoring in double figures as she puts up 10.7 points a night. Erica McCall, Ariel Atkins (14 points), Theresa Plaisance, Sydney Wiese, Kiara Leslie, Stella Johnson, Shavonte Zellous, Leilani Mitchell and Jillian Alleyne are key pieces for coach Mike Thibault. Washington is last in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 34.4% from the floor as a team. The Mystics are fourth in the league in threes per game (8.3) and stand ninth in the league in three-point percentage (28.1%) on the year. Washington is excellent at the charity stripe as they are tops in the league by sinking 87.7% of their chances this season. Elena Delle Donne is currently still out as she continues her recovery from offseason back surgery. That’s a big blow for the Mystics.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Break Through With First Win
Indiana had their chances but came up short at home against Atlanta Friday night in their most recent contest. That dropped the Fever to 0-4 on the season as they try again to earn their first win of the year in this one. Against Atlanta, Indiana trailed 7-0 early and remained down by seven at the half. The Fever regrouped to tie the game after three quarters and remained even with 4:18 to play. Indiana blinked in a close game, giving up an 8-0 run over the next 1:17 to trail 76-68 with 3:01 to play and couldn’t recover. The Fever shot 46.3% from the field, including six of 18 from three-point range, negating a 34-27 edge on the glass. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 16 points in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 11th in the league in scoring offense with 74.5 points per game. Indiana is seventh in the league in rebounding (37.5 boards per contest) and is last in the league in assists with an average of 15.8 dimes per game. The Fever are 9th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 83.5 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is the lone player for the Fever averaging in double figures with 16 points a night. Teaira McCowan (9.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, two blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.5 points, 3.3 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell, Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 8th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 39.3% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (four) while standing 12th by hitting a putrid 22.2% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is sixth in free throw shooting as they sink 78.7% of their chances at the stripe this season.
Pick: Washington Mystics -2.5
This one might be a bit of a surprise given that Washington is on the road here but take a closer look at what has transpired. Indiana lost twice to New York, falling by three at home and by eight at the road, before losing by 21 at Connecticut and by four against Atlanta at home. Meanwhile, we just saw the Mystics break the century mark against the Liberty en route to a 29-point victory. The Fever is going to have their work cut out for them trying to slow down Charles, who sliced and diced her former team Friday night en route to 34 points. Indiana doesn’t shoot the ball well from the floor and especially from the perimeter. That makes it tough to have much faith in them: look for Washington to even their record with their second straight win.
Total: Over 162
Washington went over the mark for the first time this season in the win over New York in their previous contest. The Mystics narrowly missed going over the mark against the Mercury, falling under by two points, while they were well under the mark in their opener against Chicago. One has to think the Mystics have shaken off some of the rust and that helps their production. Meanwhile, Indiana went over the total in their opening game but they’ve fallen under the mark in each of their last three contests. With that said, the Fever fell short by 6.5 points in the total against Connecticut and 1.5 points short against Atlanta. The over has hit in nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams: look for Washington to build off their performance against New York to push this over the mark.
