Connecticut Sun vs. New York Liberty Prediction and Odds - 7/11/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams finish up their first half slate on the parquet floor in the Big Apple for a WNBA tilt. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they make the short trip to face the New York Liberty Sunday afternoon. Connecticut knocked off Atlanta 84-72 at home Friday night in their most recent contest. New York was knocked off 82-69 on the road by a suddenly hot Indiana team Friday night in their latest game. The Sun cruised to an 85-64 road victory in the first meeting between the teams this season, which came on June 5. That extended Connecticut’s win streak in the series to seven games.
Connecticut Sun Looking to Stay Hot Heading Into Break
Connecticut won for the fifth time in six games and clinched their spot in the Commissioner’s Cup tilt August 12 as they knocked off Atlanta at home Friday night. The Sun improved to 13-6 on the season and entered Saturday holding the third seed in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games behind the league-leading Storm. On Friday night, Connecticut led by as many as 10 in the opening quarter and by five after the first. The game was tied with 1:22 to play in the first half before the Sun went on an 8-0 run spanning both halves to take a 47-39 advantage with 8:25 to play in the third quarter. Connecticut didn’t let Atlanta closer than three the rest of the way to earn the victory. The Sun shot 51.5% from the field, including five of 13 from three-point range, and controlled the boards by a 38-28 margin. Jonquel Jones led Connecticut with 24 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
The Sun is 10th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 79.8 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is second in the league in rebounding (37 boards a night) while they stand 10th by dishing out 18.1 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 74.2 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.3 points, 10.6 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (8.2 points) and Brionna Jones (15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.1% as a team. The Sun are tied for sixth in three-pointers per game (7.1) and fifth in three-point percentage (35.6%) on the year. Connecticut has been mediocre at the charity stripe as they convert on 79.3% of their attempts, which is 10th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
New York Liberty Hoping to Get Back in Win Column
New York had won two straight and three of four before getting upended by lowly Indiana on the road Friday night. The Liberty fell to 10-10 on the season and entered Saturday holding the sixth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games ahead of the ninth-place Mystics to stay on the right side of the cut line. In Friday’s game, New York led by as many as seven in the first quarter and held a five-point lead at the end of the opening stanza. Things went sour from there as the Liberty trailed by four at the half before giving up an 8-2 run to start the second half and put them down 10 with 5:07 to play in the third quarter. New York never got closer than six the rest of the way en route to the loss. The Liberty shot 39.4% from the field, including six of 23 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 20 times in the loss. Betnijah Laney led New York with 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
The Liberty comes into this contest 8th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 80.5 points per game. New York is 8th in rebounding (34.2 boards a night) and fifth with 19.7 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.7 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 19.8 points plus 5.2 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (9.7 points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (12.6 points, 5.7 boards), Natasha Howard (14.5 points), Kylee Shook, Rebecca Allen, Jazmine Jones, Reshanda Gray and DiDi Richards are key contributors for coach Walt Hopkins. New York is 5th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.4% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is first in the league in made threes per game (10.2) while ranking third in three-point shooting at 36.2%. New York is 7th in free throw percentage as they cash in 80.1% of their chances at the stripe. Howard is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained MCL sustained May 24 against Dallas. Allen missed the last five games with plantar fasciitis and is out here as she has commitments with the Australian national team ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
Connecticut has been on a roll since Jonquel Jones came back and they continue to hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sun are the league’s best defensive team and we’ve seen them shut down the most prolific offensive teams in the league: just ask the Aces about that. On the flip side, we just saw New York lose on the road to an Indiana team that had just two wins on the season entering Friday night. The Liberty still misses Howard and having Allen out of the mix takes another veteran out of the equation. New York has been owned in this series in the last couple of years and this one has a similar result. Jones and Bonner run wild, giving the Sun the victory.
Total: Under
Connecticut is a stingy defensive team, leading the league in scoring defense while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (41.2%) on the year. The Sun stifled the Liberty in the first meeting, holding New York to 64 points in a 21-point victory. Connecticut has seen the under hit in 12 of their 19 games on the season, including four of their previous six. New York has seen the over hit in 11 of their 20 games but, despite their defensive issues, six of their last eight games have fallen under the total. In this series, each of the last three meetings have come in under the mark. With the Sun playing their usual stifling defense, this contest ends up short of the mark as well.
