WNBA Finals Game 2 Preview: Liberty vs Aces Betting Odds
After a Dominant Win, Las Vegas Looks For an Encore
Aces Favored To Push Liberty to the Brink
What started out as a competitive game turned into a rout: Las Vegas smashed New York to go up 1-0 in the 2023 WNBA Finals. As such, the Liberty vs Aces betting odds favor the hosts to make it two straight wins as five-point favorites. With a total of 171.5 points, this one should be another high-scoring contest. These powerhouse teams will take it up a notch. But can New York stop Las Vegas’s stars?
🏀 Liberty vs Aces 🏀
Series: Aces Lead 1-0
Date & Time:
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
Game 1 Was A Tale of Two Halves
It was indeed two different halves for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. In particular, the Liberty got shut down and owned by the Aces in the final 20 minutes. Las Vegas outscored New York 53-33 and held the Liberty to 14-of-34 shooting from the field. And on their end, the Aces could not be stopped as the trio of Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum balled out.
“I have the best teammates in the world,” Plum said postgame on the ESPN broadcast, “so whatever I gotta do to just get open, Chelsea’s gonna find me. Jack was phenomenal tonight. It was just a great team win.”
The trio combined to outscore the Liberty 38-33 in the second half. The Liberty had no answers for the Young-Gray combo as the latter had nine assists for the game. Young and Plum also scored career-highs of 26 points. The former was last year’s Finals MVP and may be leading the WNBA betting odds after that performance.
With the 17-point victory, Las Vegas continued the trend of these teams alternating wins and losses since the Commissioner’s Cup Final. But for the season, these teams are split 3-3 against the spread (ATS) versus each other.
Las Vegas has always been favored against the Liberty save for their last game in New York, which is also where the Aces last lost. Since that game, Las Vegas has won 10 straight including all six of its WNBA playoffs games.
The Aces are also now 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games against the Liberty based on the Liberty vs Aces betting odds. Unless New York can quickly make adjustments to contain Vegas’s star players, the WNBA scores could reflect another Vegas blowout.
Flipping the Script: A Look Back at the Commissioner’s Cup Final
The Commissioner’s Cup Final is the last time New York defeated Las Vegas in their own court. And this game was a reverse of what happened in Game 1: New York outscored Las Vegas 50-29 in the second half. Simply put: Vegas ran out of gas and it could not stop New York.
Sabrina Ionescu hit some big shots while Jonquel Jones feasted on the boards. Courtney Vandersloot was controlling all the action. And in Vegas’s end, A’ja Wilson scored a grand total of zero points while as Young, Gray, and Plum could not carry the team to match New York’s pace.
A lot had to happen for New York to topple the Liberty vs Aces betting odds, which favored Las Vegas by seven points. For one, it’s unlikely for Wilson to score zero points in a half. And it’s also improbable for the Liberty to go 9-of-14 from deep.
But the Liberty are a resilient bunch. This team has not lost back-to-back games and is 9-0 following a loss for the season. These are the top two teams in the WNBA standings and they’ve alternated blowing each other out. So expect a better effort from New York for Game 2 as their season hangs in the balance.
For WNBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
