New York Liberty vs. Las Vegas Aces Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/15/21
It’s an interconference battle on the parquet floor as a pair of teams lock up in WNBA action in the Silver State. The New York Liberty are on the road as they travel to face the Las Vegas Aces Tuesday night. New York snapped a three-game skid as they edged Phoenix 85-83 on the road Sunday night in their most recent game. Las Vegas earned an 85-78 home victory over Dallas Sunday night in their most recent contest. In the first meeting this season, the Aces earned a 94-82 victory on the road back on June 3. That extended Las Vegas’ win streak in the series to five games and they have won eight of the last 10 matchups.
New York Liberty Looking for Back-to-Back Road Wins
New York managed to break their three-game skid and avoid falling to the .500 mark on the season as they held off Phoenix on the road Sunday night. The Liberty enter this game 6-4 on the season and held the fourth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, three games behind the league-leading Storm. New York started strong, leading by 12 after the opening quarter and by 17 with 2:07 to play in the first half. The Liberty saw their lead trimmed back to 12 at the half and down to six after three quarters. New York saw the game tied at 72 with 6:10 to play in the game but used an 8-3 run to go up 80-75 with 4:07 to play. The Liberty didn’t let the Mercury get even again and hung on down the stretch. New York shot 42.1% from the field, including 10 of 32 from three-point range, and limited Phoenix to 38.5% shooting in the contest. Betnijah Laney led the Liberty with 23 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in the win.
The Liberty comes into this contest 5th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82 points per game. New York is 11th in rebounding (33.9 boards a night) and second with 20.9 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 84.6 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 21 points plus 5.4 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (13.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (10.6 points, 3.1 boards) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (10.9 points, 5.1 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 4th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.6% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is leading the league in made threes per game (11.3) while ranking second in three-point shooting at 40.2%. New York is 6th in free throw percentage as they cash in 81.8% of their chances at the stripe. Howard is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained MCL sustained May 24 against Dallas. Ionescu missed Sunday’s game with left ankle tendinitis and is questionable here.
Las Vegas Aces Trying to Chase Storm for Top Spot
Las Vegas won their third straight and their sixth in the last seven games as they knocked off a Dallas team that was closing out a five-game road trip. The Aces improved to 8-3 on the season and enter this game tied for second in the WNBA with the Sun, 1.5 games behind the league-leading Storm. Against Dallas, Las Vegas led by as many as 11 in the opening quarter only to see Dallas tighten things up in a hurry. The Aces led by five after one quarter, by two at the half and by two after three quarters before taking control. Las Vegas opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to go up 73-65 with 6:24 to play. The Aces didn’t let the Wings closer than two the rest of the way to earn the win. Las Vegas shot 46.9% from the field, including four of 12 from three-point range, and hit 21 of 26 from the free throw line in the win. A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 28 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.
The Aces come into this contest at the top of the pack in scoring offense, ranking first with 89.3 points per game. Las Vegas is 6th in the league in rebounding (36.3 boards a game) and stand fourth in the league in assists by handing out 20.2 dimes per contest. The Aces have been solid on the defensive end of the floor as they are 4th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 79.9 points a game. A’ja Wilson leads the Aces with 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Liz Cambage (15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks), Jackie Young (14 points, 4.2 rebounds) and Kelsey Plum (6.8 points) are all solid secondary options on the offensive end. Coach Bill Laimbeer also can call on Chelsea Gray (11.8 points, 6.5 assists), Dearica Hamby (11.4 points, 5.8 boards), Riquna Williams (9.8 points), Ji-Su Park, Emma Cannon and Destiny Slocum to contribute on both ends of the floor. Las Vegas is first in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 47.8% from the field as a team this season. The Aces are 12th in the league in threes per game (4.5) and fifth in three-point shooting at 34.2% on the year. Las Vegas is currently third in free throw shooting at 83.6% on the season.
Pick: Las Vegas Aces
New York managed to hold off Phoenix on Sunday but that’s arguably their best win of the season. The problem is, the Mercury are 5-6, meaning that the Liberty have yet to beat a team with an actual winning record this season. Las Vegas is 4-1 at home and have outscored their opponents by an average of 17.4 points per game as the hosts on the year. The Aces have won six of their last seven games with their losses on the season coming to the Sun (twice) and the Storm (once) so far. Those teams are the top two teams in the league. We’ve seen the Aces beat Seattle once and they beat the Liberty by 12 on the road. Give the edge to the Aces in this contest.
Total: Over
The Liberty has seen the over hit in seven of their 10 games this season. Some of that is due to their perimeter shooting, as they lead the league in threes per game while ranking second in three-point shooting, but some can be attributed to their defensive woes on the year. Those defensive lapses could prove problematic against an Aces team that leads the league in scoring offense and field goal percentage on the season. Las Vegas isn’t a team to bury you in perimeter shooting as they pound inside with Cambage and Wilson. The Aces have seen the over hit in six of their 11 games on the year. Their first meeting combined for 176 points against a total of 171. Look for this one to edge over the total as well.
