At least I'm not making the mistake of going against Ace today.
BEST BET: New York/Seattle Over 126.5
The Liberty scored only 44 last time out against Portland. The team shot just 32% from the field and was booed by the 13,000 in attendence at MSG.
SEA is coming off of four days rest and is looking to avenge an earlier 78-61 home loss to the Liberty, a game which the Storm played without Lauren Jackson due to an ankle sprain.
This game is also a homecoming of sorts for NY native and UConn star Sue Bird, SEA's leading scorer.
The Liberty started the season out well but have lost five of their last six. Part of their problem has been that the team has compensated for its lack of size over the years by using a full-court press, but ankle injuries to Tari Phillips and Sue Wicks have hurt the teams D in the last few games.
Phllips played 33 minutes on Sunday vs Portland but Wicks, who missed the two previous games, played just 14 minutes.
IMO the Liberty D is still a couple of games away from being at full strength.
I had the opportunity to watch the Liberty practice for a few minutes yesterday at Brearly School, where my daughter is going to summer camp. It looked like the practice was all focused on improving the team's O: lots of shooting practice and passing drills.
I think this game will be more about O than D: a rested SEA team against a New York team trying to bounce back from their third lowest all-time game total. The 16 points NY scored in the first half was their lowest first-half output at MSG.
Plus a big New York crowd for Becky Hammon bobblehead night will want to see some scoring after the last game.
And there's always the possibility of overtime.
gl
