We have an interesting Thursday night matchup in the WNBA this evening as the Chicago Sky hit the road to face the New York Liberty. Tonight’s game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
Chicago (1-1) is back in action for the first time since last Saturday, where it picked up its first win of the season in an 83-74 victory over Dallas. The Sky held the Wings to just 34.8% shooting from the field and that allowed them to erase an eight-point at the start of the fourth quarter and hold their opponent to just 11 points in the final period. New York (4-0) stayed unbeaten on Monday by taking care of Seattle in a 74-63 home victory. The Liberty never trailed in this one as reigning MVP Breanna Stewart went to work with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals.
On the injury front, Diamond DeShields (foot) has been ruled out for this contest while No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso (shoulder) will also be sidelined as she is still rehabbing her injury.
New York enters the game as a heavy 16-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 166.5. The Liberty are listed as a -1600 moneyline favorite, making the Sky a +900 underdog.
Sky vs. Liberty, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Sky +16
New York should outright win tonight’s game, but how close this battle is will be determined in the paint. Chicago leads the league in offensive rebounding so far with 17.5 per game and that’s an area where rookie Angel Reese found her footing. Those second-chance opportunities have led to them having the highest points in the paint percentage in the league at 54.3%. However, the Sky will have a huge challenge when going up against a Liberty team that is limiting opponents to just 7.8 points off second-chance opportunities per game.
While I think New York will win comfortably, I don’t anticipate it being an annihilation like the spread would suggest. Also consider that the Liberty are 1-3 against the spread so far this season. Give me Chicago to cover as a heavy road underdog.
Pick ATS: Under 166.5
New York is capable of touching 90-100 points when its offense is rolling, but it is also capable of scrapping it out in a relatively low-scoring affair. That was the case in its game against Seattle on Monday and I think we see a similar final score tonight. I’ll take the under.