Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Indiana Fever vs Washington Mystics: To be or not to be for the Mystics

The Washington Mystics are hosting the Indiana Fever in Entertainment and Sports Arena on Thursday.

The Fever can finish the season with a winning record

The Indiana Fever are third in the Eastern Conference with a 20-19 record, and 8-11 on the road. After losing back-to-back games to the Las Vegas Aces, they won 110-109 against the Dallas Wings in the last one. The Fever are third in the league scoring 84.8 points per game while shooting a league-best 45.4% from the field. Kelsey Mitchell is the leading scorer on the team with 19.6 points per game, followed by Caitlin Clark who scores 19.5 per game.

Can the Mystics clinch the playoffs tonight?

The Washington Mystics are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 13-26 record, including 4-15 at home. They have lost the last two games and are coming off an 87-71 loss to the New York Liberty. They are ninth in the league averaging 79 points per game and shooting 43.2% from the field. Ariel Atkins leads the team with 14.9 points per game.

Betting Trends

The Fever are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, 15-31-2 ATS in their last 48 games following a win, 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games played on Thursday, 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games playing after a three-day rest, 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games following a loss. Indiana has played over the total point line in 4 of their last 5 games on the road, 11 of their last 14 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, 6 of their last 8 games overall and 23 of their last 31 games following a win. The Mystics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a loss, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games played on Thursday, 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games overall, 10-4 ATS in their last 14 home games, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games playing after a one-day rest, 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 games against teams with a winning record. Washington has played under the total point line in their last 5 games overall, the last 4 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, 5 of their last 6 home games, and 4 of their last 5 games following a loss.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Washington Mystics started the season with 11 straight losses, and they have a chance to reach the playoffs going into the last game on the schedule. In order to do that, the Mystics need to beat the fever and hope that the Atlanta Dream will lose to the New York Liberty. Washington won only four games at home this season, and they will need to be on top of their game in order to do their part of the job. The Fever are already locked as the third seed in the East, and they are already focused on the playoffs. The Mystics won the last game against the Fever in Indianapolis, and given the circumstances, we go with them to win tonight as well.