New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever Preview, Prediction and Odds - 7/9/21
A pair of Eastern Conference teams are on the WNBA hardwood in the Hoosier State. The New York Liberty are on the road as they travel to face the Indiana Fever Friday night. New York comes in off a 99-96 home win over Dallas Monday night in their most recent contest. Indiana split a two-game series at home with Connecticut as they earned a 73-67 upset win on Saturday afternoon in their most recent game. The Liberty swept a home-and-home series earlier this season, taking a 90-87 home win on May 14 and following up with a 73-65 road victory on May 16. Prior to those victories, Indiana had won six of the previous seven matchups.
New York Liberty Seeking Third Win of Season vs. Fever
New York won their second straight and third in the last four games as they outlasted Dallas in a wild affair at home Monday night. The Liberty improved to 10-9 on the season and entered Thursday holding the sixth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, two games ahead of ninth-place Washington to remain on the right side of the cut line. Against Dallas, New York led by nine in the opening quarter and held an eight-point edge at the end of one. The Liberty led by four at the half, by as many as 10 in the third quarter and by five after three quarters. New York saw Dallas tie the game with 4:21 to play before going on an 11-4 run that put them up 94-87 with 1:53 to go. The Liberty didn’t see their lead drop below three the rest of the way en route to the win. New York shot a hot 56.3% from the field, including 15 of 31 from three-point range, and overcame allowing Dallas to shoot 50% in the contest. Sami Whitcomb led the Liberty with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win.
The Liberty comes into this contest 8th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 81.1 points per game. New York is 9th in rebounding (34 boards a night) and fifth with 19.8 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.8 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 19.6 points plus 5.3 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (10.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (10.2 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 43.6% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is first in the league in made threes per game (10.4) while ranking third in three-point shooting at 36.6%. New York is 8th in free throw percentage as they cash in 79.9% 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 four games with plantar fasciitis and is doubtful here.
Indiana Fever Try For First Winning Streak of Season
Indiana snapped a 12-game slide as they beat Connecticut at home to split a two-game series Saturday afternoon. The Fever entered Thursday 2-16 on the year and are last in the WNBA playoff picture, six games behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. Indiana trailed by two after the opening quarter and by one at the half before outscoring Connecticut 24-17 in the third quarter to take a six-point lead. The Fever didn’t fold down the stretch, using a 12-6 run to break a 55-55 tie to go up 67-61 with 1:16 to play. Indiana didn’t let Connecticut closer than two after that and hung on for the victory. The Fever shot 39.7% from the field, including four of 17 from three-point range, and went 19 of 27 at the charity stripe in the win. Danielle Robinson led the Fever with 19 points and five boards in the win.
The Fever comes into this game 11th in the league in scoring offense with 74.2 points per game. Indiana is eighth in the league in rebounding (34.2 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 16.7 dimes per game. The Fever are 11th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 86.7 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 16.2 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (9.3 points, 3.6 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (11.6 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.3% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (4.3) while standing 12th by hitting 26.4% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 10th in free throw shooting as they sink 78.7% of their chances at the stripe this season.
Pick: New York Liberty
While Indiana picked up the win against Connecticut on Saturday, the fact that the win snapped a franchise single-season 12-game losing streak is telling. The Fever has won just twice in 18 games on the year and they struggle on both ends of the floor. New York has won two straight and three of their last four entering this one. Whitcomb has really stepped up of late to help replace some of the production that Howard normally would provide. New York shoots the ball well from the perimeter and they face an Indiana team that is 11th in field goal percentage defense (45.9%) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage defense (38.8%) on the year. That should be enough to give the Liberty the advantage in this contest.
Total: Over
We know that the Liberty can pile up points as Monday’s game with the Wings clearly showed. On the flip side, we know that New York can give up points by the truckload, as that game showed as well. Their game with the Wings saw the teams combine for 195 points to roar past the total. That marked the 11th time in 19 games this season the Liberty has gone over the mark entering this one. Indiana has seen the over hit in eight of their 18 games on the year coming into this one. The over is 5-2-1 in the last eight meetings between the teams, including one of the two matchups this season. Look for this one to wind up over the total.
