Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Minnesota Lynx vs New York Liberty: A possible WNBA final preview
The leading teams of both conferences, the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty will face each other tonight at Barclays Center.
The Lynx have the longest active winning streak in the league
The Minnesota Lynx are on top of the Western Conference with a 13-3 record, including an 4-2 on the road. They have won the last six games and are coming off a 73-60 win over the Phoenix Mercury. The Lynx are the best three-point shooting team in the league with 39.8% from from three-point territory while they are ranked second with 45.3% shooting from the field. Napheesa Collier is the best player on the team averaging 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while Kayla McBride scores 16.1 points per game.
The Liberty are the best team in the league
The New York Liberty are on top of the Eastern Conference with a league-best 15-3r ecord including 8-1 at home. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 96-75 win over the Atlanta Dream. New York is the best in the league scoring 88.1 points per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 84.3% from the free-throw line. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 19.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Betting Trends
The Lynx are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games overall, 4-0 ATS in the last 4 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, 6-1 ATS in the last 7 games against teams with a winning record, 6-1 ATS in the last 7 games on the road, 15-5 ATS in the last 20 games played on Tuesday, and 8-3 ATS in the last 11 games following an ATS win. Minnesota has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 5 games following an ATS win, 4 of the last 5 games played after two days of rest, and 6 of the last 8 games overall. The Liberty are 16-36-2 ATS in the last 54 games played on Tuesday, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 3-13 ATS in the last 16 home games, and 1-7 ATS in the last 8 games against teams from the Western Conference. New York has played over the total point line in their last four games overall, in their last five home games, in four of the last five games played on Tuesday, and in five of their last seven games played after one day of rest.
Prediction and Conclusion
New York and Minnesota are the best teams in the WNBA this season, and this may be a preview of the next final. The Liberty got to the top of the league by winning eight in a row, and after losing to the Phoenix Mercury, they won the last three. The Lyunx are currently with the longest active winning streak, and they are looking for their seventh straight tonight. New York has won 3 of the last 5 games against Minnesota, and interestingly, all five games were won by a double-digit margin. The Liberty are a -5.5-point favorite in this one, and given the Lynx current form and the Lyberty ATS record, we go with Minnesota covering the +5.5-point spread.
