New York Liberty vs. Dallas Wings Preview, Prediction and Odds - 9/11/21
It’s an interconference battle on the parquet floor as a pair of WNBA teams do battle in the Lone Star State. The New York Liberty are on the road as they travel to face the Dallas Wings Saturday night. New York was dropped 85-75 on the road by Seattle in their most recent contest back on September 2. Dallas was clobbered 83-56 at home by Connecticut in their most recent game Tuesday night. The Liberty won both meetings this season between the teams, taking an 88-81 victory on May 24 and followed that up with a 99-96 win on July 5. Both those contests came at home. Prior to that, the Wings had won six of the previous seven meetings.
New York Liberty Trying to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
New York lost their sixth straight game and their ninth in the last 10 games as they were dropped by Seattle on the road in their most recent contest. The Liberty entered Friday 11-18 on the year and held the final playoff spot by a half-game over the Mystics. Against Seattle, New York trailed by as many as nine in the opening quarter only to lead by five at the end of one. The lead remained five at the half only to see the Liberty push the edge to 10 in the third quarter before Seattle cut the advantage to one after three quarters. New York led by three with 7:30 to play but couldn’t answer after a Seattle 10-0 run left them down seven with 3:18 to play. The Liberty didn’t draw closer than four after that. New York shot 47.4% from the field, including 11 of 23 from three-point range, but turned the ball over 20 times in the loss. Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 20 points and seven assists in the win.
The Liberty comes into this contest 10th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 78.4 points per game. New York is 10th in rebounding (33.6 boards a night) and sixth with 19 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.5 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 17.2 points plus five assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, six assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (8.7 points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (11.9 points, 5.2 boards), Natasha Howard (14.5 points, 6.5 boards), Kylee Shook, Rebecca Allen, Jazmine Jones, Reshanda Gray and DiDi Richards are key contributors for coach Walt Hopkins. New York is 7th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.4% 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 36.4%. New York is 7th in free throw percentage as they cash in 80.9% of their chances at the stripe.
Dallas Wings Looking to Bounce Back
Dallas lost their second straight and fourth in their last six games as they were bombed by Connecticut on the road in their most recent contest. The Wings fell to 12-17 on the season and entered Friday seventh in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games ahead of ninth-place Washington to stay on the right side of the playoff cut line. Dallas gave up the opening five points to Connecticut and never got closer than two the rest of the way. The Wings trailed by 17 after the opening quarter, by 23 at the half and by as many as 33 in the game as they were hammered into submission. Dallas shot a putrid 26.6% from the field, including seven of 32 from beyond the arc, and lost the rebounding battle 35-26. Marina Mabrey led the Wings with 16 points in the loss.
The Wings come into this one sixth in the league in scoring with 81.3 points per game this season. Dallas is third in rebounding (36.3 boards per contest) but rank 10th in the league in assists with 17.3 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 8th by allowing 81.7 points per contest. Arike Ogunbowale (18.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists) is one of five players scoring in double figures for the Wings this season. Allisha Gray (11.7 points), Marina Mabrey (12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists), Isabelle Harrison (10.8 points, six rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (7.3 points, 5.7 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally (12.4 points, 6.3 boards), Dana Evans and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Vickie Johnson. The Wings are eighth in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 41.9% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.1) and stand fourth in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 35.3% from long range. The Wings are fourth in free throw shooting as they convert 82.7% of their chances at the stripe. Sabally (Achilles) missed the last six games and is questionable for this contest. Jefferson (hamstring) left Sunday’s game and missed Tuesday’s contest. She and Mabrey (undisclosed) are questionable while Harrison is in the league’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19.
Pick: Dallas Wings
While the Wings are banged up in this contest and it’s unclear if Sabally, Jefferson or Mabrey will take the floor, the fact remains that they are at home here. The Wings have been mediocre at home, going 5-9 on the year, but they’re facing a Liberty team that has dropped six straight, nine of 10 and who has gone 6-17 since starting the year 5-1. New York has stunk on the road, going 5-9 while getting outscored by an average of 7.1 points per game in those contests. The Liberty was outscored by 10.9 points a game in their seven August contests and started September being outscored by 10. Until we see New York turn things around, you have to fade them accordingly. Dallas gets the slight nod here as they get the home win.
Total: Over
While Dallas is coming off a low-scoring affair in their most recent contest, that came against a Connecticut team that leads the league in scoring defense. The Wings don’t have that issue here as they face a Liberty team that is at the opposite end of the rankings when it comes to scoring defense. This is a matchup of two of the three worst teams in the league when it comes to scoring defense. We’ve seen the teams combine for 169 and 195 points in the two meetings earlier this season. The over is 6-2-2 in the last 10 meetings and the under in the two meetings this season came by a half-point. This one goes over the total as both teams struggle again on the defensive end of the floor.
