If you want to know why the 23-15 Washington Mystics are laying 5.5 points on the road at crypto.com Arena, look no further than the defensive end of the floor. The Mystics arrive in Los Angeles for this 10:00 PM EDT regular-season matchup sporting a steady 10-8 away record and a defense that holds opponents to a tight 83.2 points per game. Meanwhile, the 13-25 Sparks have spent the season playing track meets without bothering to track back, surrendered a massive 92.5 points per contest, and limped to a dismal 6-13 record on their home court.
The matchup is a classic clash of basketball identities. Los Angeles actually outscores Washington on average, putting up 87.3 points per game to the Mystics' 82.9, but scoring is cheap when you give it all back on the other end. To make matters worse for the home team, the Sparks will be down some backcourt depth with both Tonie Morgan and Rae Burrell ruled out. With the total sitting at 167.5, expect Washington to try and grind this game down to their preferred pace while Los Angeles struggles to find stops. Get your picks in on StreakChat and tell us if you are taking the Mystics to cover the road spread.