New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Sun Preview, Prediction and Odds - 6/5/21
It’s a matchup of Eastern Conference foes on the parquet floor in the Nutmeg State as we get a solid WNBA matchup here. The New York Liberty are on the road as they travel to face the Connecticut Sun Saturday night. New York was knocked off 94-82 at home by Las Vegas Thursday night in their last contest. Connecticut knocked off Las Vegas 74-67 at home Tuesday night in their most recent action. The Sun took both meetings last season in the bubble, including a 70-65 win as the “road” team in the bubble in the most recent matchup on September 1, 2020. That gave Connecticut seven wins in the last 10 meetings. Can the Liberty get a road win in this contest?
New York Liberty Hoping to Bounce Back
New York showed grit as they rallied multiple times to make a game of their contest with the Aces but ran out of gas down the stretch. The Liberty dropped to 5-3 on the season and fell to the sixth seed in the WNBA playoff picture, so they look to bounce back here. New York trailed by 14 after the opening quarter and by 19 with 7:36 to play in the first half before rallying. The Liberty cut the deficit to eight at the half and after three quarters before making one last charge. New York was within one at 80-79 with four minutes to play but ran out of steam. They were outscored 14-3 the rest of the way to take the loss. The Liberty shot 40.7% from the field, including nine of 30 from beyond the arc, and hit seven of nine at the free throw line compared to the Aces’ 26 of 29. Betnijah Laney led New York with 23 points in the loss.
The Liberty comes into this contest 5th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 83.9 points per game. New York is eighth in rebounding (35.1 boards a night) and second with 21.4 assists per contest. The Liberty ranks 10th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 84.8 points per game. Betnijah Laney leads the Liberty with 22.4 points plus 4.8 assists a night this season. Sabrina Ionescu (14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists) and Michaela Onyenwere (12 points, three boards) are also capable scoring options. Sami Whitcomb (10.8 points, 5.4 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 44.3% from the floor as a team. The Liberty is leading the league in made threes per game (11.5) while ranking first in three-point shooting at 41.4%. New York is 5th in free throw percentage as they cash in 82.1% of their chances at the stripe. Howard is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained MCL sustained May 24 against Dallas.
Connecticut Sun Seeking Home Victory
Connecticut dropped two of three after starting the year 5-0 before earning the victory over Las Vegas Tuesday night. The Sun entered Friday 7-2 on the year, putting them second in the WNBA playoff picture, percentage points behind the Storm for the top spot. Against Las Vegas, Connecticut used an early 8-0 run to take the lead and held the edge for most of the way. The Sun held a five-point edge after the opening quarter and by three at the half. Connecticut was up four after three quarters only to find themselves down one with 7:33 to play. The Sun regrouped, outscoring the Aces 11-3 over the next three-plus minutes to take a 66-59 lead. Connecticut didn’t let Las Vegas closer than five the rest of the way. The Sun shot 40% from the field, including four of 17 from three-point range, and knocked down 22 of 23 free throw attempts in the win. Jonquel Jones led Connecticut with 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the win.
The Sun is sixth in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 81 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is third in the league in rebounding (37.4 boards a night) while they stand seventh by dishing out 18.4 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 73.4 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 17 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 20.6 points, 10.1 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (10 points) and Brionna Jones (12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds) each average in double figures. Jasmine Thomas (11.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fifth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.7% as a team. The Sun are sixth in three-pointers per game (8.3) and third in three-point percentage (37.9%) on the year. Connecticut has sputtered at the charity stripe as they convert on 77.7% of their attempts, which is 9th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Pick: Connecticut Sun -8.5
The Liberty has struggled when they aren’t knocking down three-point shots and we’ve seen them have issues on the defensive end of the floor. New York has to contend with a Connecticut team that leads the league in scoring defense, stands second in field goal percentage defense (39.8%) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (31.3%) this season. The other thing about the Liberty is that they haven’t beaten a good team yet this season. Until we see that happen, you have to fade New York a bit. Connecticut showed grit with their win over Las Vegas and they ride their home court along with their experience to get the win here.
Total: Under 160
New York isn’t a great defensive team as they are 10th in the league coming into this contest while the Sun are sixth in scoring offense. The Liberty has seen the over hit in six of their eight contests on the year. Connecticut has seen the under hit in six of their nine games on the season. We’ve seen the over hit in half of the last 10 meetings between the teams though both matchups last season fell short of the mark. With the way that the Sun plays defense, as we’ve seen firsthand with their two games against Las Vegas, it’s going to be tough for the Liberty to get their offense going. This one winds up falling short of the total.
