Liberty vs Mystics WNBA prediction, odds, pick – 9/17/2024
09/16/2024 11:58 PM
The New York Liberty take on the Washington Mystics. Our WNBA odds series has our Liberty Mystics prediction, odds, and pick. Find out how to watch Liberty Mystics.
The Washington Mystics had a chance to take control of the race for the WNBA’s eighth and final playoff spot on Sunday. They had beaten the Atlanta Dream on the road in Georgia on Friday night to take the lead in this three-team battle with Atlanta and the Chicago Sky. If they had beaten Atlanta at home on Sunday, this would have been their race to lose, especially since Chicago lost to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday afternoon. Instead, the Mystics blew their big chance, losing to the Dream to split the home-and-home two-game sequence. Both the Mystics and Dream won on the other side’s home floor. Now we have a two-game season to decide this deadlock.
Washington is now in a bad position in the playoff race. The Mystics know that Chicago and Atlanta play Tuesday night. One of them will lose, but one will win. This means that if Washington loses to the Liberty, it will go into the final day of the season — Thursday, Sept. 19 — one game behind the Chicago-Atlanta winner. The Mystics would need a win and losses by both Chicago and Atlanta to get in. Washington plays Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Thursday, so that will not be an easy assignment for the Mystics.
If Washington wants to dramatically improve its odds of making the playoffs, it should have won on Sunday at home against Atlanta, but now that the Mystics are in this spot, they have to see if they can take down the best team in the WNBA. The Liberty are 31-7, the only team with at least 30 wins in the league. They will likely be joined by the Minnesota Lynx as the only two 30-win teams in the 40-game regular season.
The big problem for Washington is that New York lost to Minnesota on Sunday. Why is that a problem? Simple: The loss prevented the Liberty from nailing down the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. New York needs one more win to lock up that top seed. The Liberty are therefore unlikely to rest their starters here. They need this game and will therefore be very hard to beat. Washington has to pull off a significant upset if it wants to make the playoffs.
Here are the Liberty-Mystics WNBA Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
WNBA Odds: Liberty-Mystics Odds
New York Liberty: -8.5 (-114)
Moneyline: -420
Washington Mystics: +8.5 (-106)
Moneyline: +310
Over: 161.5 (-110)
Under: 161.5 (-110)
How to Watch Liberty vs Mystics
Time: 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
TV: NBA TV, WNBA League Pass
*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (Free trial)*
Why The Liberty Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Liberty need to win this game. It’s that simple. They want that No. 1 seed. They would love to wrap it up here and then make Thursday’s game an exhibition game with the backups getting a lot of minutes and the starters being able to take a night off before the first game of the playoffs. That alone makes the Liberty an attractive choice here.
Why The Mystics Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Mystics are going to empty the fuel tank and give everything they have to win. They might fall short, but the spread is large enough that we can easily envision a six- or seven-point Washington loss, which would cover the spread.
Final Liberty-Mystics Prediction & Pick
The Liberty should win, but the Mystics will be desperate. Our lean is to New York, but our official recommendation is for you to pass on this one.
Click Here for more betting news & predictions
Final Liberty-Mystics Prediction & Pick: Liberty -8.5
The post Liberty vs Mystics WNBA prediction, odds, pick – 9/17/2024 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
