Monarchs as +7½ road dogs to cool off the Mercury's hot reign on NBA TV
by "Reload" Joe Freda
Out with the new and in with the old as the Sacramento Monarchs begin play under John Whisenant today when they travel to Phoenix to meet the Mercury.
Back in 2005, the Sacramento Monarchs reigned supreme in the WNBA as league champions under coach John Whisenant and look to head back in that direction with him taking over the reins again today. Jenny Boucek was not getting it done as head coach in Sacramento and with a once dominant franchise off to a 3-10 start this season, she was relieved of her duties several days ago.
I am backing the Monarchs as 7.5 point road dogs this afternoon in Phoenix where having Whisenant behind the bench again is a blast from the past sure to give Sacramento a chance of an upset against the Mercury.
The Monarchs and Mercury have met three times already this season with Phoenix being victorious in two out of three. Both teams had their most recent battle in Sacramento on Saturday as it was the Mercury coming out on top by two after trailing in the first half by double digits. Six players scored in double digits for the Mercury, and Cappie Pondexter had an especially big day going a perfect 13 for 13 from the free throw line.
However, it is the poor defense of the Mercury that can keep even the worst offensive teams in the league cashing at the betting windows against them. Phoenix averages giving up 89 points a game making them the WNBA’s lowest ranked defense. Even the struggling Monarchs were able to hang 105 points on them Saturday even with ex-coach Boucek still behind the bench for that one and it can only get better today for Sacramento from there.
With the Mercury riding a four-game winning streak into today, I think the last opponent they would want to see on the court during a weekday afternoon is the Monarchs – in their own gym or otherwise. Sacramento has clearly given the Mercury some of their toughest games in the past couple of months and back in their championship season in 2005, Whisenant led the Monarchs to victory over the Mercury in three out of their four matchups during that year.
Although Whisenant has mentioned wanting time to change the defensive scheme a little for the Monarchs, he has remained very positive about his team’s chances in the US Airways Center today stating, “I know these players…Eight of them played for me in 2005 and 2006…I know they can do it, and I know they will…I know they’ll fight and claw and they won’t give up.”
With this attitude, it is clear he is leaving it up to his players to perform big today and impress him in championship fashion as they did years ago.
Although Sacramento has dropped two in a row, the team has still quietly shown signs of having a good chance on any given day – and in this case it could be a dog day afternoon! Star forward Nicole Powell of the Monarchs had one of her best games of the season so far against Phoenix on Saturday putting in 23 points and kept her amazingly perfect free throw shooting streak this season going at 34 for 34 and made five 3-pointers to especially light things up. The Monarchs also outrebounded the Mercury in that game 41 to 35, including 30 defensive rebounds showing that it could be hard for Phoenix to get second chance points against them. In fact, the Monarchs have only been outrebounded by one opponent all season in 13 games. Combining this with some better coaching and the rest of the season could get them a run at a playoff spot with it all starting today.
With the battles these two teams have had this season, the oddsmakers and public are expecting another high-scoring battle with the total set at 178.5 today. This is eight points higher than what the total closed at in Saturday’s matchup and it is unusual to see that much of an adjustment. But bookmakers are tired of taking a bath on the over in Phoenix Mercury games so it has to happen. However, I would be a little surprised if the big baskets kept up today for these teams. A weekday afternoon spot in the WNBA can cause some differences for both the home and visiting team in a matchup. The crowd is generally made up of children who are off from school and it can get really noisy even in a half-filled arena.
When the Mercury recently met the LA Sparks in Phoenix on NBA TV, I recall one of the announcers giving the opinion that today’s game would be the noisiest home game of the year. It is the kind of noise that could affect the concentration of both teams as kids in the crowd will not even care who has the ball when they scream with summer excitement! So look for a few shots to miss here and there, as well as some turnovers. Does it mean the game goes under? As much as I have liked taking unders over the years, any game involving the league’s worse defense and best offense still makes the total a pass at best for me.
The Phoenix Mercury opened as a 7.5-point favorite at Pinnacle Sports yesterday and the line has stayed at that for the most part as I write this article. I feel the line is at least a point too high here even with both teams heading in opposite directions as of late. Remember that the Monarchs ended up being favored to win at home against Phoenix on Saturday and the game went down to the wire. On paper, it would seem like an 8-point swing is in order with the change in venue for today’s rematch but with it being a weekday afternoon spot and the Monarchs making their coaching change, it should tip the scales a bit in favor of some Sacramento value with the line being this high. Last month, the Monarchs played well in Phoenix and came back to tie the game at the end of regulation down 15 points with only four minutes to go. Although they lost in overtime, the box score itself does not capture these kinds of comebacks and we could see another wild one this afternoon among these conference rivals.
Get your dose of WNBA “morning sickness” and take the Sacramento Monarchs plus the points on Wednesday afternoon!
by "Reload" Joe Freda
Out with the new and in with the old as the Sacramento Monarchs begin play under John Whisenant today when they travel to Phoenix to meet the Mercury.
Back in 2005, the Sacramento Monarchs reigned supreme in the WNBA as league champions under coach John Whisenant and look to head back in that direction with him taking over the reins again today. Jenny Boucek was not getting it done as head coach in Sacramento and with a once dominant franchise off to a 3-10 start this season, she was relieved of her duties several days ago.
I am backing the Monarchs as 7.5 point road dogs this afternoon in Phoenix where having Whisenant behind the bench again is a blast from the past sure to give Sacramento a chance of an upset against the Mercury.
The Monarchs and Mercury have met three times already this season with Phoenix being victorious in two out of three. Both teams had their most recent battle in Sacramento on Saturday as it was the Mercury coming out on top by two after trailing in the first half by double digits. Six players scored in double digits for the Mercury, and Cappie Pondexter had an especially big day going a perfect 13 for 13 from the free throw line.However, it is the poor defense of the Mercury that can keep even the worst offensive teams in the league cashing at the betting windows against them. Phoenix averages giving up 89 points a game making them the WNBA’s lowest ranked defense. Even the struggling Monarchs were able to hang 105 points on them Saturday even with ex-coach Boucek still behind the bench for that one and it can only get better today for Sacramento from there.
With the Mercury riding a four-game winning streak into today, I think the last opponent they would want to see on the court during a weekday afternoon is the Monarchs – in their own gym or otherwise. Sacramento has clearly given the Mercury some of their toughest games in the past couple of months and back in their championship season in 2005, Whisenant led the Monarchs to victory over the Mercury in three out of their four matchups during that year.
Although Whisenant has mentioned wanting time to change the defensive scheme a little for the Monarchs, he has remained very positive about his team’s chances in the US Airways Center today stating, “I know these players…Eight of them played for me in 2005 and 2006…I know they can do it, and I know they will…I know they’ll fight and claw and they won’t give up.”
With this attitude, it is clear he is leaving it up to his players to perform big today and impress him in championship fashion as they did years ago.
Although Sacramento has dropped two in a row, the team has still quietly shown signs of having a good chance on any given day – and in this case it could be a dog day afternoon! Star forward Nicole Powell of the Monarchs had one of her best games of the season so far against Phoenix on Saturday putting in 23 points and kept her amazingly perfect free throw shooting streak this season going at 34 for 34 and made five 3-pointers to especially light things up. The Monarchs also outrebounded the Mercury in that game 41 to 35, including 30 defensive rebounds showing that it could be hard for Phoenix to get second chance points against them. In fact, the Monarchs have only been outrebounded by one opponent all season in 13 games. Combining this with some better coaching and the rest of the season could get them a run at a playoff spot with it all starting today.
With the battles these two teams have had this season, the oddsmakers and public are expecting another high-scoring battle with the total set at 178.5 today. This is eight points higher than what the total closed at in Saturday’s matchup and it is unusual to see that much of an adjustment. But bookmakers are tired of taking a bath on the over in Phoenix Mercury games so it has to happen. However, I would be a little surprised if the big baskets kept up today for these teams. A weekday afternoon spot in the WNBA can cause some differences for both the home and visiting team in a matchup. The crowd is generally made up of children who are off from school and it can get really noisy even in a half-filled arena.
When the Mercury recently met the LA Sparks in Phoenix on NBA TV, I recall one of the announcers giving the opinion that today’s game would be the noisiest home game of the year. It is the kind of noise that could affect the concentration of both teams as kids in the crowd will not even care who has the ball when they scream with summer excitement! So look for a few shots to miss here and there, as well as some turnovers. Does it mean the game goes under? As much as I have liked taking unders over the years, any game involving the league’s worse defense and best offense still makes the total a pass at best for me.
The Phoenix Mercury opened as a 7.5-point favorite at Pinnacle Sports yesterday and the line has stayed at that for the most part as I write this article. I feel the line is at least a point too high here even with both teams heading in opposite directions as of late. Remember that the Monarchs ended up being favored to win at home against Phoenix on Saturday and the game went down to the wire. On paper, it would seem like an 8-point swing is in order with the change in venue for today’s rematch but with it being a weekday afternoon spot and the Monarchs making their coaching change, it should tip the scales a bit in favor of some Sacramento value with the line being this high. Last month, the Monarchs played well in Phoenix and came back to tie the game at the end of regulation down 15 points with only four minutes to go. Although they lost in overtime, the box score itself does not capture these kinds of comebacks and we could see another wild one this afternoon among these conference rivals.
Get your dose of WNBA “morning sickness” and take the Sacramento Monarchs plus the points on Wednesday afternoon!
