Phoenix at Chicago

Phoenix is 6-11 straight-up on the road and opens the playoffs with a road trip to the Windy City. The Mercury have failed to cover in five straight games against winning teams with a shaky offense that is ninth in scoring, #10 in rebounding. Meanwhile, Chicago is 12-5 straight-up at home as first-year coach James Wade improved the team's defense while retaining an up-tempo offense that ranks second in scoring (84.6 points per game). Chicago has three All-Stars in point guard Courtney Vandersloot (11.2 ppg, 9.1 assists per contest), shooting guard Diamond DeShields (16.2 ppg) and forward Allie Quigley (13.8 ppg). Chicago swept the season series (82-75, 94-86) and has covered five in a row against Phoenix. They make it six in a row tonight. Play Chicago.