Five games of WNBA action are set to take place across the Tuesday, August 5 slate. Kicking things off in the lone matchup starting at 7:00 p.m. ET, the New York Liberty host the Dallas Wings.
These two teams faced off for the first time last Monday, which resulted in a 92-82 Wings victory. This will also mark the first of back-to-back matchups between these two teams, with them set to play once more on Friday as well.
Looking at the odds for Tuesday’s contest, the Wings enter as 10-point favorites and -440 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Wings hold +340 odds of pulling off the outright upset with the game total set at 173.5.
Wings at Liberty preview
The New York Liberty sit second place in the WNBA standings with an 18-10 overall record. They are also an impressive 12-3 when playing at home this season, but have been on a losing skid lately. New York snapped a four-game losing streak in their previous game with a victory over the Connecticut Sun and look to get fully back on track in this matchup. They rank second in the league in scoring, second in assists, fourth in field-goal percentage, second in three-point percentage, and attempt the third-most long-range shots per game. Defensively, the Liberty rank eighth in opponent points per game, third in opponent field goal percentage, fifth in opponent three-point percentage, and they force the fourth-most turnovers per game.
Sabrina Ionescu leads the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game along with 5.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds. The four-time All-Star is freshly off a season-high 36-point, 11-rebound performance in the previous victory over the Sun. Breanna Stewart continues to produce even in the later stages of her career and is averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, but the two-time MVP is currently battling a bone bruise in her knee and is out without a clear timeline to return. Jonquel Jones has also proven important, leading the Liberty with 8.9 rebounds per contest along with her 14.1 points. While it may not show in the box score as much, Natasha Cloud has been the tone-setter for New York for plenty of the season. The scrappy, defensive-minded guard is averaging 9.8 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds with her impact being even louder than the numbers.
The Dallas Wings enter the matchup with an 8-21 record and have lost eight of their past 10 games. After some significant struggles to start the season, Dallas looked to be getting on track by winning five of seven games at the end of June, but they are back to showing some areas of concern. Overall, they average 82.1 points per game, which ranks seventh in the WNBA. The Wings also rank ninth in field-goal percentage and 11th in three-point percentage while attempting the fourth-fewest three-pointers per game. Opponents are scoring 86.6 points per game against them, the fourth-worst mark, and shooting the third-best field goal percentage when facing Dallas on the second-best three-point efficiency.
Paige Bueckers headlines the production with 18.5 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. After some brief growing pains upon making the professional leap, Bueckers has settled in and is in the midst of one of the most impressive rookie seasons in league history despite the lack of team success. Arike Ogunbowale has struggled to share the floor with Bueckers for stretches this year, but is still averaging 15.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. Dijonai Carrington is the lone other member of the team to average over double-figures with 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Li Yueru leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game while adding 7.8 points and shooting an impressive 39.4% from beyond the three-point arc.
Wings at Liberty prediction, pick
When viewing this matchup through the wider lens of the season, it is a bit shocking that the Wings were able to pull off the 92-82 victory in the first matchup. This game took place in Dallas where the Wings produced a wire-to-wire victory. They pushed the lead to as large as 30 during the matchup, with Bueckers and Ogunbowale pouring in 20 points each in the win. It is worth noting that Breanna Stewart missed this matchup.
This will continue to be an issue for the Liberty tonight as Stewart is still battling back from her knee issue. Dallas has made some progress in their level of play from the start of the year, but still looks overmatched from an overall roster perspective. Even without Stewart, the Liberty have the talent advantage. It was clear in the previous game that Sabrina Ionescu took the matchup personally and was desperate to end the four-game losing streak. It will take a similar effort to get in the win column in this one.
While Stewart does not produce at the level she did when she was in her prime, the entire Liberty offense flows much more effectively when she is on the floor. It is not coincidental that the losing streak started the day the three-time champion got hurt. While Ionescu’s performance level was impressive in the previous game, it was concerning that the Liberty were never able to bury the Connecticut Sun. New York produced an 87-78 victory after losing to Connecticut the game before. The Sun are the worst team in the WNBA by just about every single metric, including their 5-22 record.
Dallas is a step up in competition from this and looks like a more complete team than Connecticut. While I am still backing the Liberty to find a way to win, the 10-point spread feels far too large with Stewart unavailable and the recent stretch of play in mind. The Wings have taken some positive stretches throughout the season, while the Liberty have dropped four straight and just barely eked out a victory over the Sun in the previous game. Expect this matchup to remain competitive throughout — I am backing Dallas to cover the 10-point spread and keep it within single digits.
