Phoenix Mercury vs. Indiana Fever picks, odds: WNBA predictions for Fri. 8/16

Phoenix Mercury: Was the Break Good for Phoenix?

The Mercury went into the long Olympic break playing uneven basketball and came out of it with an impressive performance in a win over the Sky in Chicago. The Mercury were led by their trio of gold medal winners, as Kahleah Copper (29), Brittney Griner (23) and Diana Taurasi (11) paced the team in scoring and were the only players to reach double figures in points.

Phoenix made 12 3-point shots in the victory, which was above their season average of nine per game.

Griner, in particular, was dominant, adding nine rebounds, six assists and five blocks to her box score.

The Mercury tallying 26 assists as a team was also above their season average, with four players dishing out at least four on the night.  The question is if this offensive performance that came against one of the league's more sturdy defenses is an aberration or more of what we can expect from the veteran-led team.

Indiana Fever: Indiana's Defensive Struggles

After a slow start to the season, the Fever started to find their stride before the break, partly due to a couple of wins over the Mercury. They are led in scoring by star rookie Caitlin Clark at 17.1 points per game, who's also dishing out 8.2 assists and grabbing 5.8 rebounds. She turns the ball over a lot — 5.6 times per game to be exact — and she averages more than eight 3-point attempts per game.

Clark is aided by a trio of very capable scorers in Kelsey Mitchell (16.9), Aliyah Boston (14.2) and NaLyssa Smith (11.6), giving the Fever one of the W's more potent offensive attacks.

Where Indiana has struggled most this season is on the defensive end. It's surrendering the second-most points in the league while also posting the second-worst defensive rating. The last game the Fever played saw them surrender 101 points to the Dallas Wings, which was the third time this season they allowed at least 100 but the first since late May against Seattle.

Mercury vs. Fever: Head in the Clouds

Betting Pick & Prediction

The Fever are in the bottom five of the league in rebound percentage and tend to give up boards to opposing guards. Phoenix point guard Natasha Cloud didn't play in the last meeting between the teams but pulled down five rebounds in the first, which was just above her average of 4.4 per game. Expect her to get to that number on Friday.