New York Liberty vs Minnesota Lynx Prediction, 8/31/2021 WNBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New York Liberty vs Minnesota Lynx

Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Amazon Prime

The Minnesota Lynx (15-9) host the New York Liberty (11-16) at Target Center on Tuesday.

The New York Liberty stepped onto the hardwood against the Phoenix Mercury and took a loss by a final of 80-64 in their last contest. New York finished having earned a 37.3% FG percentage (25 out of 67) and buried 10 of their 33 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Liberty made 4 of their 4 shots for a rate of 100.0%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 35 with 3 of them being offensive. They also dished out 20 assists for the game as well as forcing 12 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to defending, New York let their opponent shoot 39.7% from the floor on 27 out of 68 shooting. Phoenix distributed 7 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. In addition, Phoenix grabbed 39 rebounds (7 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 6 blocks. Phoenix finished shooting 81.8% from the free throw line by knocking down 18 of 22 attempts. They also made 8 of their 26 shots from beyond the arc.

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Betnijah Laney is one player who was a major contributor for the matchup. She accumulated 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. She played for 37:03 minutes played and also grabbed 2 boards. Laney walked away from this one shooting 38.5% from the field and dished out 6 assists. Another player that came through in this matchup for the Liberty was Sabrina Ionescu. She collected 10 rebounds in her 35:47 minutes played. She finished shooting 31.3% from the floor in this game by going 5-of-16 (12 points). When the final whistle was blown, Ionescu tallied 9 assists.

New York will play this contest with a mark of 11-16 for the season. They cough up possession 16.1 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, New York is grabbing 33.7 boards per game and has totaled 525 assists so far this year, which is 4th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Liberty are shooting 36.5% on shots from 3-point land (281 of 769) and 80.3% from the charity stripe. They average 79.0 points per contest (9th in the league) while connecting on 42.6% from the field. Defensively, the Liberty are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.1 fouls. They are 10th in the WNBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 540 surrendered on the year. The Liberty defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 44.2% (327 of 462) and they concede 36.8 boards per game as a group. They give up 33.7% on three-point shots and they are 11th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (86.0).

In their last game, the Minnesota Lynx walked away with a victory by a final of 76-70 when they played the Seattle Storm. The Lynx recorded 33 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 37 in the matchup. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Storm were called for 18 personal fouls for the contest which took the Lynx to the charity stripe for a total of 16 tries. They were able to bury 15 of the free throw tries for a clip of 93.8%. When talking about 3-pointers, Minnesota knocked down 5 of 14 tries (35.7%). When all was said and done, the Lynx finished shooting 28 out of 66 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4%. The Lynx permitted the Storm to convert 28 of their 74 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 37.8% for the contest. They finished shooting 33.3% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 8 out of 24 and ended up shooting 6 out of 7 at the free throw line (85.7%). In relation to cleaning the glass, Minnesota permitted Seattle to grab 41 overall (10 offensive).

Sylvia Fowles was important for the Lynx for the contest. She made 10 of 17 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 58.8%, and earned 20 rebounds. Fowles earned 29 points in her 36:56 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the contest. One more player that was pivotal for Minnesota was Kayla McBride. She walked away with 3 dimes in 34:15 mins on the hardwood, and she converted 3 out of 7 from the field. McBride wrapped this one up going 42.9% from the floor and also totaling 7 points and 2 total rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 15-9 so far this year. Minnesota has accumulated 1,979 pts so far this year (82.5 per contest) and they average 34.2 boards per contest. The Lynx commit 18.1 fouls per contest and they go 82.9% from the free throw line. In terms of offensive execution, the Lynx are hitting on 46.0% from the floor, which ranks 2nd in the WNBA. They are earning an assist 20.8 times per game (4th in the WNBA) and they are turning it over 14.5 times per contest. The Lynx are ranked 5th in basketball in PPG given up with 79.9. They are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.6% from the field (6th in the league). The Minnesota defense concedes 36.3% on 3-pointers (186 of 513) and their opposition makes 82.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 18.6 dimes and 32.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 5th and 2nd in the league.

Who will win tonight's WNBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York

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