Liberty Begin Quest For a WNBA Title Tonight

Liberty vs Mystics Preview: Washington Won't Compete

Although women’s college basketball ended in April, the WNBA’s regular season has already begun. The New York Liberty will travel to Washington, D.C., to face the Mystics in the WNBA’s first matchup. The Liberty finished second in last year’s standings with a 32-8 record. Again, they’re projected to be the second-best team in the league, behind the Las Vegas Aces.

On the other hand, Washington went 19-21 and couldn’t finish with a .500 record. The Mystics also don’t have any of the top players from last year.

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But this year’s first-round pick, Aaliyah Edwards, figures to make a real impact for the Mystics moving forward. Still, she’ll need some time to get acclimated and it won’t be easy against the Liberty, who have Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu on the roster.

Therefore, the New York Liberty are sitting at -11 (-115) against the spread with the total at 163.5.

Let’s take a look at the first WNBA game of the season. Our Liberty vs Mystics preview is below!

🏀 Liberty vs Mystics 🏀

Records: New York Liberty (38-12), Washington Mystics (19-23) (2023)
Day/Time:
Location: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, D.C.
Streaming: ESPN3

Liberty vs Mystics Preview

It’s the start of a new season in the WNBA. It’s the most anticipated WNBA season of all time, with so many exciting rookies taking the stage.

Aaliyah Edwards was drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics out of UConn. But she’s coming off a preseason game with only one point in 15 minutes. So, it will take time for Washington’s first pick to get comfortable in the WNBA. But she’ll be a dangerous force alongside Ariel Atkins when she does.

Atkins is a guard who averaged 15 points per game last season. She figures to be the Mystics’ leading scorer this year. Meanwhile, the Liberty won’t need much production from the younger players. However, they added Marquesha Davis with their first-round pick out of Ole Miss.

Davis will be perfect for their perimeter defense, but she only shot about 24% from downtown at Ole Miss. She can drive and facilitate, and that’s key for Davis, who will also have a couple of big-time shooters like Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu to pass the ball to when the defense collapses into the paint.

Liberty’s Team Is Finalized

New York waived Jaylyn Sherod and a second-round pick, Esmery Martinez, before tonight’s matchup. Unfortunately, these were the final two New York Liberty roster cuts.

Meanwhile, the projected starting lineup will include Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, and Sabrina Ionescu. This group made it into the WNBA Finals last season but fell short to the Las Vegas Aces.

Many analytics have given Liberty predictions that would have them back in the WNBA Finals this season.

We’ve Got A Trade To Announce

A few days ago, the Washington Mystics traded the Seattle Storm for Jade Melbourne. With Seattle, Melbourne battled it out with former UConn guard Nika Muhl as Skyler Diggins-Smith’s backup. Muhl won this battle, so the Storm traded away Melbourne for a third-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Melbourne’s rookie season last year was rocky. She scored only 2.6 points per game and shot 39.1% from the field.

Expecting Big Things For The Liberty

The New York Liberty finished 32-8 last season and made big changes from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, the Liberty were among the worst offensive teams in the WNBA. Now, they’re one of the best after scoring 89.2 points per game last season. That rate was only behind Las Vegas, who added 90.4 points per game.

The Liberty were also second in points per 100 possessions and added a 46% field goal percentage, which was also second in the WNBA. In addition to a top-two field goal percentage, the Liberty nailed a league-high 37.4% from downtown and added 1.15 points per scoring attempt per game.

The only thing New York didn’t do well offensively last season was the percentage of points from the foul line. The Liberty were 11th with only 15.5% of points from the line.

On the other hand, the Mystics were 8th in points per game and added -.4 net points per game. They got to the foul line more often but only shot 47.6% from two and 33.6% from three.

That won’t fly against the Liberty, who led the WNBA in opponent field goal percentage and held teams to just 46.1% from two-point shots last year.

In addition, the Mystics finished 11th in offensive rebounds per game and weren’t much better on the defensive glass either. They were 12th in the WNBA in rebound rate. On the other hand, the Liberty were second in rebound rate.

Therefore, per our Liberty vs Mystics preview, New York should be the more prominent team heading into the season. A blowout is likely incoming. Not all WNBA games will be like this one.

However, the Liberty put up some enormous WNBA scores that the Mystics won’t be able to match.

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


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