New York Liberty vs. Los Angeles Sparks Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/20/21
A pair of major market teams take the floor in WNBA action in the City of Angels. The New York Liberty are on the road as they make the trip west to face the Los Angeles Sparks Sunday afternoon. New York was pasted 103-76 on the road by Las Vegas as they were swept in a two-game series Thursday night in their most recent contest. Los Angeles was dumped 80-66 at home by Phoenix Friday night in their most recent game to split a two-game series with the Mercury. The Sparks took both meetings in the bubble last season, including a 96-70 win as the “road” team in the most recent meeting on September 8, 2020. That gave the Sparks seven victories in the last 10 meetings entering this contest.
New York Liberty Looking to Regroup on the Road
New York was hammered in a pair of games in Las Vegas by the surging Aces and head to the City of Angels losers of five of their last six games. The Liberty dropped to 6-6 on the season and entered Saturday night holding the sixth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, just half a game ahead of the ninth-place Sparks to remain above the cut line. New York held a four-point lead in the opening quarter before surrendering a 13-0 run that left them down 24-15 in the opening minute of the second quarter. The Liberty never got closer than five after that: the deficit was 21 at the half and reached as high as 27 points in the second half en route to the one-sided loss. New York shot 31.3% from the field, including 10 of 38 from three-point range, and was dominated 52-36 on the glass. Betnijah Laney led the Liberty with 20 points in the loss.
The Liberty comes into this contest 7th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 81.2 points per game. New York is 11th in rebounding (33.3 boards a night) and third with 20.6 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 11th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 87.5 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 20.4 points plus 5.3 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (10.1 points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (10.5 points, 5.2 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 6th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 42.6% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is leading the league in made threes per game (11) while ranking second in three-point shooting at 38%. New York is 7th in free throw percentage as they cash in 79.3% of their chances at the stripe. Howard is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained MCL sustained May 24 against Dallas. Kiah Stokes is out for the time being as she is representing Turkey in EuroBasket.
Los Angeles Sparks Trying to Regroup at Home
Los Angeles came up on the short end of the stick against Phoenix Friday night to end up splitting their two-game series with the Mercury at home. The Sparks entered Saturday night 5-6 on the season and sat ninth in the WNBA standings, even with the Lynx for the final playoff spot but they trail due to head-to-head meetings. Los Angeles trailed 13-3 early but rallied to tie the game at 17 after the opening quarter. The Sparks led by two just over a minute into the second quarter before giving up a 9-0 run to trail 29-22 and couldn’t get closer than four the rest of the way. Los Angeles shot 38.3% from the field, including four of 14 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 33-28. Erica Wheeler led the Sparks with 17 points in the loss.
On the season, Los Angeles is 11th in the league in scoring offense as they average 74.5 points per game. The Sparks are last in rebounding (29.6 boards per game) and 12th in assists (14.8) this season. Los Angeles is 2nd in scoring defense as they give up an average of 78.7 points a night. Nneka Ogwumike leads the team with 16.4 points plus seven rebounds a game this season. Chiney Ogwumike (nine points, 5.7 boards) and Kristi Tolliver (9.7 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Derek Fisher hopes to get more from role players like Brittney Sykes, Nia Coffey (8.6 points), Erica Wheeler (12.1 points, four assists), Te’a Cooper, Amanda Zahui B (11 points, 6.1 boards), Arella Guirantes and Bria Holmes. Los Angeles is 12th in field goal percentage on the season as they shoot 39.3% from the field as a team on the year. The Sparks are fifth in three-pointers per game (7.7) and 6th in three-point shooting as they convert 34.4% from beyond the arc this season. Los Angeles is 11th in success at the charity stripe as they cash in 74.6% of their attempts on the year. Jasmine Walker was lost for the season with a torn ACL that she suffered against Las Vegas May 21. Chiney Ogwumike missed the last seven games with a knee injury and is out indefinitely. Nneka Ogwumike is expected to miss four to six weeks with a knee sprain sustained against the Wings June 1. She is expected to be out until mid-July.
Pick: New York Liberty
New York has really hit the skids with five losses in their last six games but the fact remains that, at least for the most part, the Liberty are healthy. Ionescu returned in a reserve role against the Aces Thursday and struggled, though you have to think she’ll play better here. Howard remains out but she’s played in just two games this season. Still, the Sparks are minus both Ogwumike sisters and Walker. That puts pressure on Wheeler, Toliver and Zahui B to pick up the slack offensively. We’ve seen the Sparks put up 71 points or less in four of their last five games. Facing a New York team that has defensive issues could help them but the Liberty has too much talent for the Sparks to contend with in their current state. Give the Liberty the advantage here.
Total: Under
This one might be a bit of a surprise, given the fact that the Liberty is second-worst in the league in scoring defense on the season. The fact remains that, as we mentioned above, the Sparks are last in the league in scoring offense, field goal percentage, rebounding and assists. Los Angeles has struggled to put points on the board of late with their big showing a 98-point outburst in a blowout win over an Indiana team with just one win on the season. The Sparks have seen the under hit in eight of their 11 games this season. New York has seen the over hit in nine of their 12 contests but with Los Angeles weak on offense and excellent on the defensive end, this one ends up being a struggle for points. Lean toward the under here.
