Phoenix Mercury at Los Angeles Sparks (-4, 171)
The Western Conference's top team meets its hottest team when the Mercury visit the Sparks Thursday night.
Los Angeles is rolling, winning six straight games while posting a 5-1 ATS record in that span.
The return of veteran forward Lisa Leslie has supplied the Sparks with some needed energy. And now that MVP Candace Parker appears to have her groove back, L.A.’s dominance in the paint is the backbone of a late-season push.
The Sparks have out-rebounded every opponent during this streak by an average of over 10 boards per game. In their most recent win, Los Angeles pulled down 35 rebounds with 20 of those coming from Leslie and Parker.
"I was just like, 'These girls, they can't stop us inside,"' Leslie told reporters after Tuesday’s win over Chicago. "I got a chance to really look and see where those open spots were and I was able to get back in. They weren't doing a very good job of boxing out, so I knew just keep crashing the boards."
Pick: Los Angeles
Connecticut Sun at Seattle Storm (-4.5, 144.5)
Injured Connecticut forward Asjha Jones is close to returning but will not make it back from an Achilles’ injury in time to shut down Storm forward Lauren Jackson.
The 6-foot-5 Aussie, along with reserve center Janell Burse, is a handful down low. Seattle is one of the best inside shooting teams in the WNBA, posting a field goal percentage of over 43 percent. Jackson is averaging almost 20 points and over seven rebounds per game this season.
In their most recent contest, the Sun were able to slow down the Storm’s frontcourt and held Jackson to just 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting. However, a lot of that defense came from Jones, who had two blocks and four fouls in the 64-53 Connecticut win on August 13.
Without her, the Sun face a towering Storm team that has extra motivation outside of avenging that loss two weeks ago. Seattle can clinch a playoff spot with a win Thursday and trail the Western-leading Phoenix Mercury by two games.
Pick: Seattle
