Liberty Will Get Revenge On Struggling Aces

Liberty vs. Aces, 3:00 ET

I'm changing it up a bit here. I've written three WNBA articles and all three have been winners for the Outkick faithful. In all three articles, I played a game that involved Caitlin Clark. Not really a surprise, we know that she gets clicks and traction. However, I bet on the WNBA quite a bit. The tickets all cash the same as a baseball bet, football bet, hockey, horse racing, whatever. If you have the edge, you take it and you play it. I'm looking at this game as the Liberty take on the Aces in a Finals rematch from last season. 

The New York Liberty are arguably the best team in the league at the moment. They have an 11-2 record and are 5-1 away from home. The team is well balanced with Sabrina Ionescu being able to shoot from deep and lead the charge. Courtney Vandersloot has a good outside shot and has the ability to play strong perimeter defense. That's the back court. The front court is probably even better. Down low, you have a do-it-all Forward in Breanna Stewart. She was last year's WNBA MVP and is putting together a strong campaign this year as well. Her running mate is Jonquel Jones. Jones is third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding, and first in blocked shots. She will have her hands full trying to stop Aja Wilson. The Liberty are currently on a seven game winning streak and have had quite a bit of rest prior to this game. Their last game was June 9th, so you could argue a rest versus rust issue here, but I personally think they are all too talented to worry about that. In terms of matchups, I'm interested to see if Ionescu is guarded by Kelsey Plum. They both will be on the USA Olympic team and could start their audition for starter here. 

Kelsey Plum goes viral with black outfit. (Photo by David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Aces have won the past two WNBA Championships and if they want to get a third one, they need to make some adjustments. The team is currently struggling, and has just a 6-5 record. Last season, the Aces lost a total of six games. What has changed from last year to this year? Well the first difference is the Aces are without Chelsea Gray. So instead of four powerhouse players, they are down to just three in Wilson, Plum, and Jackie Young. The other problem is that Kelsey Plum isn't playing to her full potential right now. She's still scoring 18.5 points per game, but shooting just 38.6% overall. Wilson is doing her best to carry the team, and it seems like she is a clear front runner for MVP this season. She leads the league with 28.6 points per game and is still doing things on the defensive end to anchor that side of the ball. That's the biggest issue for the Aces this season. They've struggled to contain opponents. They are allowing 85.3 points per game to opponents. While they still score 87.3 per game, the defense is allowing opponents to get essentially anything they want.

The Aces have now played two games in the time that the Liberty have been off. Clearly we know which team will be more tired if this is a close matchup. I have to imagine the Liberty are looking to get a bit of revenge in this one as they were defeated with relative ease in the Finals last year. Wilson took it personal that Stewart received the MVP last year and is probably going to try and send a message in this game. I'd consider her over points. However, I think the best look here is to take the points OR play the moneyline. Don't do both. Personally, I think the Liberty will win the game. They are in better form and have had more rest, plus the revenge factor. I'm going to back New York to pull it out on the road. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024