Aces vs Liberty Preview: Viva Las Vegas! Aces Move For the Sweep

Aces Favored to Sweep and Repeat as Champs

The Las Vegas Aces demolished the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals to move within one win of repeating as champions. History suggests that Las Vegas will do it: all eight teams that went up 2-0 in the WNBA Finals won the title – seven swept their opponents. As such, this Aces vs Liberty preview, like the odds, favors Las Vegas to finish the job. Can New York, at least, win a game?

Aces Ready to Establish Dynasty

The Las Vegas Aces are the team the WNBA needs. As women’s sports continue to grow in popularity, the Aces can be that “superteam”. They have five All-Stars, dominate atop the WNBA standings, and have more than lived up to the billing. It has won 11 straight games and is 7-0 in the WNBA playoffs – eight came by double figures.

More notably, the Aces have also covered seven of their last 10 spreads. The Aces have a point differential of +18.1 in this span. The team is on fire, which is why four of its last five games have either pushed or gone over the total (3-1-1). WNBA scores tend to be high when Las Vegas plays and it’s mainly true on the road.

Las Vegas’s road games have gone over the total 18 out of 25 times. That’s due to Vegas giving up a bit more points: its defensive rating is 101.0 compared to 94.3 at home. That’s why folks have steamed the total here from 170.5 to 172.5 currently. It’s also why the Aces struggle to cover on the road despite a 16-5 record: just 8-13 against the spread (ATS).

That should not be as much of an issue here with the spread only at 2.5 points, which is only the second time Las Vegas has been this slight of a favorite. Still, those looking at the WNBA betting trends would see that the Aces are just 5-4 ATS when favored by single digits.

At this rate, just bet the Aces straight. This team smells blood and will emphasize this Aces vs Liberty preview.

What Can The Liberty Do Now?

The Liberty find themselves in a 0-2 hole after letting the Aces score at will. New York could not stop Las Vegas. Now, the team must figure out how to stop Las Vegas and it’s hard to see how. Only one team has been able to win a game in the WNBA Finals under these circumstances. So this Aces vs Liberty preview could merely be previewing the Aces’ crowning on Sunday.

“Vegas is playing their best basketball at the moment,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “We’re very disappointed because we’re a way better team than we’ve shown.”

Indeed, the Liberty look like a far cry from the version that held the Aces to an average of 79 points in five meetings during the regular season and Commissioner’s Cup Final. Las Vegas is averaging 101.5 points on 53.7% shooting.

The most obvious key for New York is to quickly put a lid on Vegas. The Aces doubled the Liberty 38-19 in the first quarter. Las Vegas shot 14-of-20 and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. The team also had 12 assists against one turnover. In short: the Aces were en fuego.

As Brondello said in the post-game press conference, the Liberty will need to disrupt Las Vegas’s rhythm right away. Make it uncomfortable. In this way, New York will not have an uphill battle as it cannot hope to outscore the WNBA’s best offense.

New York has struggled lately: just 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games and 1-5 ATS at home in this span. But with the season on the line, now’s the time to break out of the funk.

For WNBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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