The Leading Logic In Sports Handicapping |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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WNBA Finals Lagniappe 10/13
Game 1 of this WNBA Finals matchup between the sharpshooting Minnesota Lynx and high-octane New York Liberty resulted in a Finals record.
Minnesota tied the record for the largest comeback in Finals history, ultimately overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second quarter; however, it was the 15-point comeback in the last five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter that stunned the Liberty.
What can we expect from the Liberty in Game 2? Can they tie this Finals series up, or will the Lynx shock them once again and take a 2-0 lead?
New York was dominating Game 1 before a late surge from the Lynx in the final five-ish minutes. The Liberty beat Minnesota by 15 points through the first 35 minutes but ultimately lost due to a Minnesota flurry.
Minnesota's top three players, Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride, combined for 66 of the team's 95 points on (roughly) a blistering 56% shooting from the field, 43% from 3-point land and 83% from the free-throw line.
Conversely, New York's two-headed monster of Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart combined to knock down just 14 of their 47 field goal attempts (29.8%).
Simply put, that won't happen again.
The Lynx's scalding-hot shooting won't continue into Game 2, as New York has been one of the better defensive teams during the postseason, ranking second in defensive rating and fourth in opponent field goal percentage.
The sense of urgency for New York will be there. This is a must-win.
Even though the Liberty lost the first game, the spread still sits around 7.5 points in favor of New York for Game 2. And that's appropriate, given how they looked for most of the game.
Despite a rough shooting night, New York put up 84 points in regulation, and, as expected, it was because of the dominance on the glass.
The Liberty crushed Minnesota in the rebounding department, winning the battle of the boards by 12.
As a result of their shockingly impressive 20 offensive rebounds, New York took 19 more field goal attempts.
Unfortunately, the Liberty just could not convert, hitting only 37.8% of their shots in Game 1, which resulted in their fourth-worst shooting night from the floor all season, playoff (7) and regular season games (40) included.
Expect some positive regression for the Liberty offensively. New York ranked first in the W in offensive rating this season (107.0) and has been even better on that end of the floor in the postseason (112.8).
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10-13-24 04:08 PM |
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