The term lopsided has been appropriate in two matchups already in the books this season between the New York Liberty and Seattle Storm.
The Storm have twice defeated the Liberty this season, including a 32-point dismantling in late May.
While the Liberty have improved of late and have worked diligently toward removing the label of "worst team in basketball," facing a tough defensive-minded Storm team will be a good test to measure just how far they've come.
Our WNBA betting picks and predictions break it all down.
Storm vs Liberty odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks. Compare WNBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Storm vs Liberty predictions
Predictions made on 6/19/2022 at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Storm vs Liberty info
• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Date: Sunday, June 19, 2022
• Tip-off: 12:00 p.m. ET
• TV: PRIME Video
Storm vs Liberty betting preview
Key injuries
Storm: Mercedes Russell C (Out).
Liberty: Rebecca Allen G (Ques), DiDi Richards G (Out), Jocelyn Willoughby F (Out), Nyara Sabally F (Out), Betnijah Laney G (Out).
Find our latest WNBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 5-1 in the Storm's last six games playing on one day's rest. Find more WNBA betting trends for Storm vs. Liberty.
Storm vs Liberty picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Spread analysis
Whenever a legendary basketball player decides to call it a career, it is always interesting to monitor how the team will respond in the immediate aftermath of the announcement.
In this case, Seattle is being hit with the reality that their longtime franchise cornerstone and women's basketball legend Sue Bird will be officially retiring after the season. How will they respond against a Liberty team that is improving?
The Storm don't score many points; at 78.3 per contest, they are currently ninth best in the WNBA. That wouldn't necessarily put great optimism in considering the Over, but they do several things well that always give them a chance for a big night in the scoring department.
They currently rank No. 1 in the league in 3-point attempts per game. The Storm also rank Top 2 in steals and assists, which will cause a significant issue for the Liberty as they rank 11th in the league in turnovers, committing 16.2 per game. They also have the ultimate fear factor for an opposing defense in Breanna Stewart, the 27-year-old superstar who currently leads the league in points per game (22.1).
The Liberty, coming off a tough 77-66 victory over the Washington Mystics, have started to turn the tides this season. The month of June finds the Liberty with an impressive 5-2 record averaging 83.7 points per game, fifth-best in the league during that span.
Points have been coming easier for the Liberty as they have a 46.5 field goal percentage and are No. 1 in the league since June in made 3-point field goals per game, 9.7.
The Storm currently rank third in defensive rating, and they will be tasked with slowing down several Liberty scorers with the talent to take over a game. On Wednesday night, a giant, the Washington Mystics, forward Natasha Howard had one of her better games of the season, scoring 27 points with nine rebounds.
The Liberty have gone 4-5 in home games. The Storm have gone 3-3 away from home. Today will be a tough battle where neither side sees a substantial offensive explosion.
Prediction: Liberty +1 (-110 at PointsBet)
Over/Under analysis
Neither the Storm nor Liberty have been particularly stellar against the spread this year. The Storm are 5-10 ATS while the Liberty sit at 8-7.
Defensively, the Storm are one of the more formidable teams in the WNBA. With a defensive rating of 97.3, the third-best mark in the league, opponents' points are hard to come by. Opponents have only scored over 80 points six times in their first 16 games. They rank in the Top 2 in opponent points and opponents' 3-point percentage. Priding themselves on defense, they force over eight turnovers per game and have held teams under 70 points on four occasions this year.
Today's matchup is an intriguing showdown as bettors must decipher whether the recently improved Liberty offense can penetrate a tough Storm defense. The Storm will look to force New York back into some of their early-season woes.
While the Liberty have a few promising young core players, I wouldn't expect any of them to show up big against such a formidable defensive opponent. I wouldn't expect the Storm to flinch, even with recent strong performances from Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Howard.
Prediction: Under 153.5 (-110 at PointsBet)
Best bet
The Liberty have struggled to score the ball this season, but as mentioned earlier, they have improved tremendously over the last several weeks. There are reasons for the improvements, but a major one is the addition of guard Crystal Dangerfield.
Dangerfield won't turn heads with her stat line, but her presence has impacted this team. After being cut from Minnesota and appearing in three games as a hardship player with Indiana, the second-year player seems to have found a home in New York. Her presence has taken a lot of playmaking pressure off of Ionescu's back and has done an excellent job of helping unlock the offense.
Since the signing of Dangerfield, the Liberty have seen an uptick in points (76.6 to 79.6), field goal percentage (42.6 to 43.2), and assists (19.3 to 20.8).
The Liberty offense will look to continue its strong play despite the challenging matchup here. Seattle is tough, but teams have scored 80+ in three of the last four games against them. The climbing Liberty will look to make a statement.
Pick: Liberty team total Over 76.5 (-120 at FanDuel)
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