Caitlin Clark did not disappoint on Wednesday night. She posted a triple-double against the Sparks and cleared the over on her points prop. We went 1-1 on player props and hope to find a sweep on Thursday night, a two-game slate featuring the Seattle Storm vs. New York Liberty and the Washington Mystics vs. Phoenix Mercury.
Can the Mercury climb back into sixth place with just a few games left in the regular season? Which players will step up tonight?
Keep reading to find the analysis of our WNBA player prop picks for Jonquel Jones and Brittney Griner on Thursday, September 5.
New York put on a clinic on August 30, the last time the Liberty faced the Storm. It was a two-woman show, as Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart combined for 57 of the team’s 98 points.
Posting 98 points against one of the league’s top defenses (Seattle) is incredibly impressive; however, we have come to expect that from this Liberty team that is currently favored to win this year's WNBA Finals.
One player who was not involved much offensively against Seattle was Jonquel Jones, who posted six points on 3-8 shooting from the field. While Jones has been a rock-solid interior piece for the Liberty this season, her offensive output can be sporadic.
Still, this is an ideal matchup for her overall. The Storm rank eighth in opponent second-chance points, ninth in defensive rebounding percentage and 10th in opponent points in the paint this season.
Jones had a solid 16-point outing against Seattle earlier in the year, and she can bounce back in this spot with all of the attention on Ionescu and Stewart.
Pick: Jonquel Jones Over 13.5 Points (-108) – FanDuel
So far this season, the Mercury have faced the Mystics twice. Griner has only been available for one of those matchups, but she dominated, posting 23 points on 9-17 shooting from the floor.
Her 17 attempts in that matchup were tied for the most shots she has taken in a single game all season.
At 6'9", Griner towers over nearly every opponent, including the Mystics team. Shakira Austin, Washington’s starting center, will not be available on Thursday, leaving Stefanie Dolson to defend Griner.
Dolson has solid size at 6'5", but the Mystics have not been a good defensive team all season. They rank eighth in defensive rating and defensive rebounding percentage and 10th in opponent field goal percentage.
Furthermore, they are in dead last in opponent field goal percentage inside of five feet, which is where Griner loves to do her work. This is an ideal spot to take Griner to score 18 or more.
