The Washington Mystics will try to make it seven wins in a row on Sunday, Aug. 9, when they host the Phoenix Mercury, a team still looking for a first victory since the Kelsey Plum trade. Washington has won six straight and covered in each of those games, while Phoenix is 0-2 and averaging only 77.0 points with Plum in the lineup.
That is why Mercury vs. Mystics is drawing attention now. Washington has turned its run into a betting streak too, going 7-0 ATS in its last seven games, and the defensive numbers help explain it. The Mystics are holding opponents to a league-low 48.5% effective field goal percentage and 1.06 points per scoring attempt, two figures that put real pressure on an offense no higher than 12th in offensive rating at 104.8.
The matchup also puts two of the league’s least efficient offenses in the same gym, but Washington is getting real production from Shakira Austin. She averages 16.1 points per game, has scored at least 21 points in four of her last five games, is shooting 55.1% from the floor in that span and has made a three in each of her last three games. That kind of inside-out scoring matters against a Mercury side that has not found an immediate answer after adding Plum.
Phoenix’s problem is not just the record. The Mercury have not translated the move into better scoring, and the first two games with Plum have brought only 77.0 points per night. Washington, by contrast, has paired its streak with discipline at both ends, and the gap in form is why the hosts are being backed to lay 3.5 points.
Lauren Betts has also been a steady presence on the glass, pulling down at least seven rebounds in each of her last four games, giving Washington another way to keep control if shots are not falling. The cleanest read on Sunday is simple: the Mystics have the momentum, the defense and the sharper recent form, and Phoenix still has to prove the Plum era has changed anything yet.
