Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Los Angeles Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury: Both teams are off to a slow start to the season

Both the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury will try to bounce back when they face each other at Footprint Center on Sunday.

The Sparks are ending their three-game road trip

The Los Angeles Sparks are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 2-5 record. Their only wins came against the two worst teams in the East, the Fever and the Mystics. Los Angeles is coming off an 83-73 loss to the Chicago Sky. They are the second-worst offensive team in the league, scoring 78.6 points per game. Dearica Hamby is the best player on the team, averaging 20.6 points per game.

The Mystics have the longest losing streak in the West

The Phoenix Mercury are fifth in the Western Conference with a 3-5 record. They have lost the last three games and are coming off a 95-71 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. The Mercury are eighth in the league scoring 79.6 points per game. Kahleah Copper leads the team with 24.3 points per game.

Betting Trends

The Sparks are 4-1 ATS in the last five games following an ATS loss and 4-1 ATS in the last five games on the road. They have played over the total point line in the last four games following an ATS loss, in 5 of the last 6 games on the road and 7 of the last 10 games overall. The Mercury are 4-10 ATS in the last 14 games played on Sunday and 5-15 ATS in the last 20 games against teams from the Western Conference. They have played over the total point line in 10 of the last 14 games overall and 6 of the last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams are struggling lately and are under pressure to perform well tonight. The Mercury had a decent start to the season, but losing the last three games has put them in a difficult situation. Neither team is good on the defensive end, so this will be run-and gun basketball, so we go with over 164.5 points in total.