Liberty vs Aces WNBA Pick: Can Defending Champs Remain Dominant Against Las Vegas? (Ju1 8)

• The New York Liberty are 12-6 and have the best record in the Eastern Conference.
• The Las Vegas Aces are 9-9 and have the third-worst record in the Western Conference.
• These teams previously faced off on May 17, with the Liberty emerging victorious by a score of 92-78.

One of the games on Tuesday’s WNBA slate features the New York Liberty hosting the Las Vegas Aces. Are the defending champs on upset alert in our Liberty vs Aces pick?

Liberty Looks To Bounce Back From Loss to Seattle

After a 9-0 start, the defending champs have gone 3-6 across their last nine games. This includes a 79-70 loss to the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

In a back-and-forth first half that saw nine lead changes, New York led by a slim 44-41 margin at the break. Seattle seized control of the contest in the third quarter, outscoring the Liberty by a sizeable 22-6 margin.

New York missed its first 10 shots and shot 2-for-18 from the field during the game-changing stretch. Sabrina Ionescu scored a team-high 22 points, along with nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Natasha Cloud, the only other Liberty player to reach double figures, finished with 12 points and three rebounds for a Liberty squad that shot 35.3 percent from the field.

Las Vegas Aiming For Third Win In Four Outings

Following a 94-83 setback against the Washington Mystics on Jun. 26, the Aces have won two of their three previous games, including an 86-68 victory against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

The teams were knotted at 18 in the second quarter before Dana Evans (18 points) converted a layup that sparked a 13-2 run to give the Aces a 29-18 advantage.

Las Vegas increased its lead to 43-28 at halftime and never trailed the rest of the way. A’ja Wilson finished with 19 points and four blocked shots.

Jackie Young added 14 points and six assists and moved into sixth place on the league’s all-time assists list. The Aces’ defense held Connecticut to 38.1 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Liberty vs Aces WNBA Pick

New York is ranked second in offensive rating and has the third-lowest defensive rating in the association. On the other side, Las Vegas is ranked ninth in both points per game and scoring defense.

The Liberty eliminated the Aces in four games in last year’s playoffs. Additionally, they have won the previous five regular-season matchups in this series.

For obvious reasons, going with the Liberty to win the game and cover a relatively small spread (-5.5) looks like a safe bet.