It’s a battle of bottom feeders in the Western Conference on Saturday. The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm are square in the middle of lost seasons, and playing for pride more than anything right now. Who wins this showdown of the lottery-bound?

Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET. The Mercury are 7.5-point home favorites with -298 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. A Storm upset is priced at +240 with the game total set at O/U 160.5 points.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Storm-Mercury game.

Storm vs. Mercury Preview

So far, the Storm are failing every test. Their 94-89 loss to the Portland Fire runs their losing streak to nine games, and the tank is completely on. In fact, that game was a perfect microcosm of their season: Dominique Malonga was absurdly dominant on both ends of the floor, the rest of the team, by and large, disappointed, and they ended up losing.

In the short term, it’s about taking positive steps forward. Can Malonga stay healthy and continue to dominate? Will Awa Fam continue to grow offensively while being a defensive weapon? Natisha Hiedeman continues to look like an MIP candidate, and at 29 years old, could easily stick around for the next iteration of a Storm playoff team if they so choose. Stefanie Dolson makes for an intriguing rental buy as a quality rotation big. We’re firmly in the deadline evaluation phase for this team as the season spirals out of control.

Phoenix is also in the trade evaluation phase, and they’re far less happy about it. Losing Satou Sabally in the offseason truly crushed their outlook for this season, and at 4-12, it’s time to ask some hard questions. They’re in the bottom five in both offensive and defensive ratings and have little hope of improvement. Alyssa Thomas can only raise the floor so much when Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner are running out of steam.

As an aside, if Mercury decides to sell before the deadline, watch out. Thomas is still a top-5-10 player in this league who has consistently driven wins. Copper is a strong shotmaker who would benefit from a scaled-down role. Bonner is a veteran bench piece any playoff team would welcome. The rebuild is upon them whether they want it or not; if they choose to lean into that, they could come away with some excellent pieces for the future.

I’ll be watching the Malonga-AT matchup like a hawk. Two of the best defenders in the league, the battle of old vs. young will be electric. Can Thomas’ rotational defense blow up a highly suspicious Storm offense? Will Malonga’s size and skill be enough to overwhelm Thomas and Natasha Mack in the frontcourt? A lot rests on Fam and Flau’jae Johnson to knock down their shots to bend this Phoenix defense. Ditto for Copper and Monique Akoa Makani knocking down shots for Phoenix.

Now we know what to make of these two teams. Who is going to take home the win?

Storm vs. Mercury Pick, Best Bet

This game has a ridiculously low over/under for a reason. These are two of the worst offenses in the league, and they bring strong defensive personnel to the table. But my eyes are on the spread. Seattle hasn’t been great at covering spreads, but I believe they can drag the Mercury down into the mud with them and keep this one close.

Best Bet: Seattle Storm +7.5 (-112)