Mercury vs Wings Betting Preview: Thrilling WNBA Showdown in Arlington on Wednesday

The Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings will meet Wednesday, the first of back-to-back games between the teams on the WNBA schedule. Both games will be held at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Dallas opened as a 3.5-point favorite and bumped down to three points in early betting. They’re -155 to win outright (down from -165 at open). The buy-back price on Phoenix is +135. The posted total is 163. Let’s look closer at the matchup in our Mercury vs Wings betting preview.

Phoenix Scuffling

After an extended layoff, Brittany Griner seems to have answered questions about her abilities. The eight-time WNBA All-Star, who spent the last year in a Russian prison following drug charges, has been arguably Phoenix’s best player. The 32-year-old Griner is averaging 22 points and 8.8 rebounds while leading the league in both shooting percentage (68.2) and blocks per game (3.3).

Unfortunately for Phoenix, it hasn’t translated into much success in the WNBA standings. The Mercury are just 1-3 and have allowed the second-most points in the league at 87.3 per game. That may improve over time, but it’s not guaranteed, given their aging roster.

Diana Taurasi is still a dangerous scorer, averaging 18.3 points, but at 40 years old, she doesn’t have the durability she once did. Injuries have slowed her in the last four seasons, including in 2022, when she missed the remainder of the year with a quad strain. She did manage to play 31 games last season after appearing in only 41 from 2019-21 combined.

Griner and Taurasi will undoubtedly draw the bulk of attention from Dallas —  something to remember as you assess the odds in our Mercury vs Wings betting preview.

Sabally Breaking Out

Satou Sabally’s first three seasons in the WNBA offered optimism but no concrete reason she was on the verge of breaking out. Hampered by injuries, the No. 2 pick in 2020 appeared in just 44 games, averaging no more than 13.9 points.

This season is a different story, though. The 25-year-old Sabally is off to the best start of her young career, developing into a star alongside Arike Ogunbowale. Sabally is averaging 22.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, ranking third in both categories in the WNBA. She’s also registering 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

With another dynamic player in Ogunbowale (21.2 PPG) alongside her, Dallas has a foundational core to build around for years to come. The Wings are just 3-3 this season, leaving them in the middle of the pack of the WNBA standings, but the potential is obvious.

At 85 points per game, Dallas is the league’s third-highest-scoring team. Remember, that’s little production from first-round picks Maddy Siegrist and Lou Lopez Senechal. Both players were elite scorers in the Big East at Villanova and UConn, respectively. Dallas (32.7% from 3-point range) certainly could use a boost from the perimeter.

Handicapping The Game

The Wings’ front office deserves some credit. They’ve assembled a young core that could propel the franchise to new heights in the coming seasons. After back-to-back trips to the playoffs, the Wings, led by Sabally and Ogunbowale, seem primed to take another step, if not this season, then definitely in the near future.

Meanwhile, with its aging stars, Phoenix is trending in the opposite direction. After a 1-3 start, there should be some concern about the viability of its roster. Do Griner and Taurasi still have what it takes to carry the Mercury to a championship? Many are skeptical, as Phoenix’s WNBA odds have dropped to +3200, well behind Las Vegas (-110), New York (+170), Washington (+1500) and Connecticut (+1600).

Given the state of both teams, Dallas should be a slight home favorite in our Mercury vs Wings betting preview.

For WNBA betting news, analysis and more, visit pointspreads.com

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