Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty Prediction and Odds - 7/5/21
It’s an interconference matchup on the parquet floor as a pair of teams lock up in WNBA action from the Big Apple. The Dallas Wings are on the road as they travel to face the New York Liberty Monday night. Dallas split a two-game series at home with Chicago as they earned a 100-91 victory on Saturday afternoon in their most recent game. New York rallied their way back to earn an 82-79 home victory over Washington in their most recent contest Saturday. In the first meeting between the teams this season, it was the Liberty taking an 88-81 home victory on May 24. That snapped a four-game Wings’ win streak in the series.
Dallas Wings Trying to Climb Over .500 Mark
Dallas won for the third time in four games as they split their two-game home set with Chicago by prevailing Saturday afternoon. The Wings improved to 9-9 on the season and entered Sunday seventh in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games clear of ninth-place Washington to remain on the right side of the playoff cut line. Against Chicago, Dallas trailed by as many as 10 in the opening quarter but used a 9-0 run to get within a point after the first quarter. The Wings led by three at the half and by two after three quarters only to trail 91-90 with 1:41 to play. Dallas was strong down the stretch, closing the game on a 10-0 run to earn the win. The Wings shot 53.1% from the field, including 11 of 20 from three-point range, and won the game at the free throw line. Dallas hit 21 of 26 at the stripe while Chicago was 10 of 11. Marina Mabrey led the Wings with 28 points and five assists in the win.
The Wings come into this one third in the league in scoring with 85.2 points per game this season. Dallas is second in rebounding (37.2 boards per contest) but rank 9th in the league in assists with 18.1 per game. The Wings are struggling defensively, ranking 7th by allowing 82 points per contest. Arike Ogunbowale (20.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists) is one of four players scoring in double figures for the Wings this season. Allisha Gray (11.4 points), Marina Mabrey (14.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists), Isabelle Harrison (9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Kayla Thornton (8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds) are all capable scoring options as well. Charli Collier, Tyasha Harris, Chelsea Dungee, Awak Kuier, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally (12.8 points, 6.1 boards), Dana Evans and Bella Alarie all can be looked to for minutes for coach Brian Agler. The Wings are eighth in the league in field goal percentage as they hit 42.7% as a team. Dallas is fourth in three-pointers per game (8.7) and stand third in the league in three-point shooting as they hit 36.4% from long range. The Wings are second in free throw shooting as they convert 83.8% of their chances at the stripe.
New York Liberty Hoping to Build Off Rally
New York won for just the fourth time in the last 12 games as they rallied from a big hole to edge Washington at home Saturday. The Liberty improved to 9-9 on the season and enter this game holding the sixth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, 1.5 games ahead of ninth-place Washington to remain in the playoff picture. New York trailed Washington by 13 after the opening quarter, by 18 at the half and by 20 with 8:49 to play in the third quarter before regrouping. The Liberty sliced the deficit to 10 after three quarters and was within three with 1:58 to play in the game before scoring the game’s final six points to earn the victory. New York shot 45.3% from the field, including eight of 20 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 39-34. Betnijah Laney led the Liberty with 19 points in the victory.
The Liberty comes into this contest 8th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 80.1 points per game. New York is 8th in rebounding (34.3 boards a night) and fifth with 19.4 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.3 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 19.7 points plus 5.3 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, six assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (10.2 points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (12.2 points, 5.5 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 42.9% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is first in the league in made threes per game (10.1) while ranking fourth in three-point shooting at 35.9%. New York is 7th in free throw percentage as they cash in 80.7% 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 three games with plantar fasciitis and is questionable here. Richards left Saturday’s game with a neck injury and is questionable here.
Pick: Dallas Wings
Both teams have dealt with their share of injuries this season and sit at the .500 mark on the year. With that said, Dallas has won three of their previous four games coming into this one while New York has dropped eight of their previous 12. The Liberty has missed Allen in the last few games and they dug a 20-point hole against the Mystics Saturday before rallying to get the win. Meanwhile, Dallas showed their grit by outgunning a high-octane Chicago team in their last game. The Wings have plenty of weapons on the offensive end and they do enough on that end to knock off the Liberty to even their season series.
Total: Over
Dallas, despite their big offensive numbers, have seen the under hit in 10 of their 18 games with one push on the books. The Wings are one of the league’s best offensive teams and that is going to be a challenge for New York to try and slow them down. We know that the Liberty has their share of issues when it comes to playing defense, forcing them into high-scoring affairs. As it stands, New York has seen the over hit in 10 of their 18 contests this season. In the last nine meetings between the teams, the over has gone 5-2-2. While the first meeting this season fell short of the total, it ended up missing by just half a point. Look for the Wings to run and gun to push this one over the total.
