Portland Fire vs Phoenix Mercury Picks and Predictions for Sunday, August 16th, 2026

By: Cameron Ross Published 08/16/2026, 12:10 AM ET

Fire vs Mercury Game Information

The Portland Fire stay on the road Sunday night with a 7:00 PM matchup inside the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ, against the Phoenix Mercury. Portland is 6 games below .500 coming into Sunday, having won 3 of the last 4 after a 2-point road victory against Seattle. The Phoenix Mercury stay home Sunday, 9 games below .500 this season, following a 7-point home victory against Los Angeles in their last outing to end a 3-game losing streak. Stay in the action with our WNBA Picks.

Fire Preview

The Portland offense has been shaky this season, averaging 86.7 points on 45% shooting. Defensively, Portland has been outmatched, giving up 91.3 points per game this season, but they have allowed an average of 86 points per game across their last 3 wins. Carla Leite leads the Portland offense this season, averaging 15.5 points and 6.2 assists per game. Bridget Carleton is second on the roster, averaging 14.6 points, and Megan DiLeo averages a third-best 12.9 points per game. Emily Engstler is averaging 9 points and leads the team, pulling in 5.3 rebounds per contest.

Mercury Preview

The Phoenix offense has been one of the worst in the league this season, averaging only 83.9 points on 44% shooting. Defensively, Phoenix has allowed 87.4 points per game through 35 games. Kahleah Copper leads the Phoenix offense this season, averaging 20.6 points per game. Kelsey Plum has averaged 17.3 points per game, though she has played just 4 games for Phoenix. Alyssa Thomas is averaging 14.8 points and leads Phoenix, averaging 7.4 rebounds and 8.2 assists per contest.

Fire vs Mercury Pick

Sunday is a matchup between 2 of the bottom teams in the Western Conference as each is trying to push towards 500. Phoenix won the first matchup of the season between these teams, but Portland will have the edge on Sunday. Portland has the better offense and has played better basketball lately, which will carry them to a road win Sunday night against the Mercury.

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