New York Liberty (-9, -110)
San Antonio Stars (+9, -110)
Total: 155.5
Once one of the top teams in the league, New York endured a tough mid-season skid but appear to have come out on the other side. Winners of two in a row, and four of their last five, the Liberty are actually still fighting for their playoff lives due to the improved play of several teams lower in the rankings. Currently seeded sixth, the Liberty are just 2.5 games up on ninth place Seattle, but as mentioned before, they are trending upward. Last game, an 86-82 win over the red-hot Chicago Sky, New York finally put together a good offensive performance, an area they have had issues in all season. An offensive rating of 107.5 in that game was over seven points better than their season average of 101.4, and their rebounding percentage of 56.9 was stellar. Tina Charles scored 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting and looked mortal like the rest of us for once, but Sugar Rodgers, Epiphanny Prince, Kiah Stokes and Shavonte Zellous all stepped up to score in double digits. With just 12 games left to play until the playoffs, every remaining game for New York will be vital for seeding purposes.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Stars are already beginning to hear talks of who they should draft first in the 2018 WNBA Draft, assuming they get the number one pick. The effort has been there for San Antonio, but the talent simply isn’t. It also hasn’t helped that both Moriah Jefferson and Kayla McBride have both missed time due to injuries at multiple points this season. On a positive note, Kelsey Plum is getting more court time and though her results haven’t been stellar, she has shown flashes and continues to try figure out how to make an impact. I’ve mentioned it here before, but the rise of Isabelle Harrison has been an unnoticed one due to their poor record; otherwise the second year player out of Tennessee would be a frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award. Owners of the worst offensive rating in the league, as well as the lowest true shooting percentage and assist to turnover ratio, the Stars should continue to look towards the future and figure out what talent they have to more forward with.
Liberty should win this game, although both teams have offensive issues so if its close, it could go either way. I’ll still take New York and the under.