Fever vs Mystics betting preview: Why the over 170.5 looks like the smart play

I was able to get us a win on Sunday with a WNBA play, so let's go back to the well and try to grab another victory. Remember, the Bears cashing a Sunday -6.5 ticket pays out at the exact same as a Toronto Tempo -1.5 ticket. Besides, who doesn't like a story involving Caitlin Clark? This matchup between the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics has her and a good chance for us to make some cash.

The Fever are the most talked about team in the WNBA, but it still feels like no one knows anything about this team. The common thing to do is hate on the league and talk about Clark's place in it.

Personally, I am more impressed by Clark's passing than her three-point shooting. She's good at both, but she is also hard to watch at times because she does whine a lot. There are a lot of dynamics involved with her, but let's just stick to what matters -- what is happening on the court.

For the year, Clark is averaging 18.7 points per game, and 8.2 assists. Most importantly to me, she has only missed one game after missing almost all of her sophomore campaign. The team is still getting major production from Kelsey Mitchell, who I wondered if she would step back with Clark returning. Aliyah Boston gives the team a top trio in the league, and their roster is still deep. I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a move around the trade deadline for a defender or something, though. At just 5-5, the team still is figuring things out now that Clark is back full time.

The Mystics are a team that I think is in the beginning of their rebuild. Maybe they are closer to the middle, but regardless of where they stand, the point remains - they are rebuilding. They have a great piece to build around in Sonia Citron. She honestly could be the face of the league if they wanted her to be. She is talented, doesn't seem to complain all that much. That's a good combination for marketing if it seemed like the WNBA had any desire to actually market themselves properly.

The Mystics are 4-5 and coming off a loss that saw their head coach get escorted off the court by security. I've actually never seen that before. That usually means a team will play harder, the next game, but there have been an alarming number of blowouts this season in the league. I can't say for sure what the reason is, but it seems like teams are either winning by 20 or just barely losing a game. The Mystics' five losses, for example, are by five, 13, 12, five and 32. Three double-digit losses and two five-point ones. Even their wins are by three, two, 14 and 18.

I do expect better effort in this game. It is hard to lose as a professional by 32 and then not care the next game. Also, everyone brings their "A" game against the Fever because of Clark and the attention the games draw. This will be the second game between the Fever and the Mystics with Washington taking the first one in Indiana by two in overtime.

In this game, I expect the teams to once again score bucket after bucket. While there should be some increased defense on the part of the Mystics, I just don't see them stopping Indiana altogether. Additionally, the Fever look to move the ball. They aren't a great defensive team, and the Mystics are going to probably have a better offensive night than what they did against the Dream. Give me over 170.5 in this one. We saw 206 points with overtime in the first game. They did score 28 in overtime, but still would've cleared tonight's total comfortably.