The Seattle Storm and New York Liberty meet Saturday in WNBA action at the IMG Academy.
The Seattle Storm are coming off an 18-win season that ended in the second round of the playoffs. This season, the Storm could very well be the team to beat for the title with the return of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird. That due along with players such as Natasha Howard, Jewell Loyd, Epiphanny Prince and Jordin Canada gives the Storm a veteran presence and insane depth we rarely see in this league. The Seattle Storm have countless players who can takeover a game any given night and it makes the job for head coach Dan Hughes rather easy. Barring injuries, the Seattle Storm should leave Florida with another championship.
The New York Liberty ended their season with losses in 14 of their last 16 games, and they ended up winning just 10 contests overall. The Liberty enter this season with seven rookies and a new head coach in Walt Hopkins. And while the ridiculous amount of youth could be viewed as an issue, one of those rookies is Sabrina Ionescu, easily one of the most talented players on the planet and somebody who can carry a franchise for the next decade. Ionescu has unlimited potential and is a near lock to win Rookie of the Year this season. Kia Nurse is quickly developing into a really good point guard and Amanda Zahui B is another player who is starting to come into her own. We also can’t forget about Layshia Clarendon, who comes over from the Connecticut Sun and was a 2017 All-Star. The Liberty could surprise some folks this season.
The Storm are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a road favorite and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite. The Liberty are 6-19-2 ATS in their last 27 home games, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games and 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games overall. The over is 5-2 in Storm last 7 overall. The over is 5-2-1 in Liberty last 8 overall. The Storm are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in New York.
The Seattle Storm should be massive favorites in this game because of the depth and experience on their roster, and they’re going up against a baby Liberty team with nothing but youth and a new coach. On paper this is a massive mismatch. However, if you’re able to overlook the lack of experience, the Liberty have talent, not only with the leading ROY candidate but young players who are quickly coming into their own such as Nurse and Zahui B. I’m not saying the New York Liberty are going to make a playoff push or anything, but they can compete and be much better than expected.
Assuming we’re getting a lot of points here, I’d give the Liberty a look.