Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Los Angeles Sparks vs New York Liberty: Can the Sparks stun the Liberty?

The Los Angeles Sparks are visiting the New York Liberty tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Sparks are having a disappointing season

The Los Angeles Sparks are fifth in the Western Conference with a 4-11 record, including 1-7 on the road. They have lost the last four games and are coming off a 79-70 loss to the Connecticut Sun. The Sparks are tenth in the league, scoring 77.1 points per game, and are ranked ninth, shooting 42% from the field. Dearicka Hamby is the best player on the team, averaging 18.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

The Liberty have a promising season

The New York Liberty are second in the Eastern Conference with a 12-3 record and are 6-1 at home. After winning eight consecutive games, the Liberty lost 99-93 to the Phoenix Mercury in the last one. New York is second in the league scoring 86.6 points per game while shooting 45.2% from the field and 83.9% from the free-throw line. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 19.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Betting Trends

The Sparks are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 games against a team with a winning record and 1-5-2 ATS in the last 8 games following a ATS win. They have played under the total point line in their last 6 games following a straight up loss, in 5 of the last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, 5 of the last 6 games on the road, in 4 of the last 5 games played on Thursday, 12 of the last 16 games against teams with a winning record and 7 of the last 9 games overall. The Liberty are 4-0 ATS in the last four games playing after one day rest, 5-2 ATS in the last 7 games overall, 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games played on Thursday, 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games following a ATS loss, 1-5 ATS in the last 6 games against teams from the Western Conference and 1-7 ATS in the last 8 games at home. New York has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 5 home games and 12 of the last 17 games against teams with a losing record.

Prediction and Conclusion

The New York Liberty are the hottest team in the league despite losing the last game in Phoenix. The Sparks are quite the opposite, as they are having a terrible season, and things will not go well after rookie forward Cameron Brink tore her ACL and is out for the season. The Sparks have only one road win so far in the season, and winning in New York is not something they are capable of doing at the moment. Still, the -14.5-point spread for the Liberty is too much, so we are going with under 164.5 points in total since both teams are playing under recently.