ASA top play on 10* Phoenix Mercury +5.5 vs. NY Liberty, 10 PM ET - This is a solid spot to fade the Liberty and back a Phoenix team that is better than their .500 record. New York is coming off a huge win over the Aces who beat them last season in the Finals and will have a tough time being focused here. If you look at the Mercury’s season statistics, they aren’t good. Phoenix has a negative Net Rating of -5.7, rank 7th in Offensive Net Rating and 11th in Defensive Net Rating. But when you look at their most recent 4 games with Griner back in the lineup they are significantly better with a +3.2 Net Rating. Griner’s impact is evident as she is scoring 22PPG, grabbing 7.8RPG and has 7 blocks on the season. With her in the lineup the Mercury are 3-1 SU with impressive wins over Seattle, Minnesota, Dallas and a close loss to Las Vegas. New York is playing their 5th road game in a six-game stretch making this a difficult scheduling situation. These two teams met on May 29th in New York and the Mercury played close in a 3-point loss without Griner. Don’t be shocked if Phoenix wins this game outright.