Los Angeles Sparks vs. New York Liberty Preview, Prediction and Odds - 8/22/21
It’s an interconference contest on the hardwood in the WNBA coming to you from the Big Apple. The Los Angeles Sparks are on the road as they travel to face the New York Liberty Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles comes in off a 66-64 home win over Atlanta Thursday to sweep a two-game series from the Dream. New York was knocked off 99-83 at home by Seattle Friday night to wind up with a split of their two-game set. The Sparks have won six of the last nine meetings between the teams but it was the Liberty earning a 76-73 road victory in the first matchup between the teams this season June 20.
Los Angeles Sparks Looking to Maintain Momentum
Los Angeles won their third straight game coming out of the Olympic break as they swept a two-game series from Atlanta at home by prevailing Thursday. The Sparks improved to 9-13 on the season and stand ninth in the WNBA playoff picture, percentage points behind the Wings for the final playoff spot. On Thursday, Los Angeles led most of the way before faltering in the fourth quarter before pulling out the win in the final second. The Sparks led by seven after the opening quarter, by eight at the half and by 13 after three quarters before falling apart. Los Angeles saw Atlanta rally to tie the game with 32.8 seconds to play in the contest before earning the win on a putback by Nneka Ogwumike with 0.1 seconds to play. The Sparks shot 44.6% from the field, including five of 14 from three-point range, and overcame 19 turnovers in the victory. Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win.
On the season, Los Angeles is 12th in the league in scoring offense as they average 73.5 points per game. The Sparks are last in rebounding (30.5 boards per game) and 12th in assists (15.2) 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 15.5 points plus 7.3 rebounds a game this season. Chiney Ogwumike (nine points, 5.7 boards) and Kristi Tolliver (9.5 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Derek Fisher hopes to get more from role players like Brittney Sykes, Nia Coffey (7.5 points), Erica Wheeler (13.7 points, 4.4 assists), Te’a Cooper (8.7 points), Amanda Zahui B. (11.5 points, 6.1 boards) and Arella Guirantes. Los Angeles is 12th in field goal percentage on the season as they shoot 40.2% from the field as a team on the year. The Sparks are 8th in three-pointers per game (6.9) and 8th in three-point shooting as they convert 33% from beyond the arc this season. Los Angeles is 11th in success at the charity stripe as they cash in 75.5% 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 19 games with a knee injury and is out indefinitely.
New York Liberty Hoping to Bounce Back
New York shocked Seattle Wednesday night in the first game of their two-game series but was run over in the second game of the set Friday night. The Liberty dropped to 11-13 on the season, leaving them seventh in the WNBA playoff picture entering Saturday, one game ahead of the ninth-place Sparks. New York started strong, leading by seven after the opening quarter and by one at the half before things completely came apart in the second half. The Liberty was outscored 30-16 in the third quarter and never got closer than 12 the rest of the way. New York shot 38.6% from the field, including 12 of 30 from three-point range, while losing the rebounding battle 41-29. Sami Whitcomb led the Liberty with 26 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the loss.
The Liberty comes into this contest 9th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 79.5 points per game. New York is 11th in rebounding (33.7 boards a night) and fifth with 19.3 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 11th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 85.4 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 18.2 points plus five assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (9.1 points) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (12.6 points, 5.6 boards), Natasha Howard (16 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 43.1% 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 36.4%. New York is 8th in free throw percentage as they cash in 79.9% of their chances at the stripe.
Pick: Los Angeles Sparks
While we’re looking at the league’s worst scoring offense in this contest in the Sparks, it’s important to note that they have three straight wins on the books. The return of Nneka Ogwumike has helped Los Angeles, though they clearly could use more offensive punch in their rotation. Facing a New York team that has struggled on the defensive end of the floor works in their favor. The Liberty had issues slowing the Storm in their win Wednesday despite Seattle resting Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart in that contest. When those two were on the floor, New York was blasted as they surrendered 99 points. Los Angeles isn’t going to get anywhere near that mark but the Sparks have momentum and that carries them to a victory here.
Total: Under
Los Angeles has been an under machine though it’s not just because of their putrid offensive numbers. The Sparks are sound on the defensive end as they are second in scoring defense this season. Los Angeles has seen the under hit in 15 of their 22 games on the year. New York has seen the over hit in 14 of their 24 games but they have to find a way to tighten up on the defensive end of the floor if they want to have any chance at a deep playoff run. The Liberty have gone over the mark in each of their last three contests coming out of the Olympic break but the Sparks will slow things down. Los Angeles has seen the under hit in six of their last seven games, including the game Thursday against the Dream. This one falls short of the mark as well.