Will Napheesa Collier go over her points total in Thursday night’s Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 WNBA Finals matchup? Or is there a better bet on the board for tonight’s WNBA Finals opener?
Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 Event Information
Minnesota Lynx (+6) at New York Liberty (-6); o/u 159
8:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, October 10, 2024
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
TV: ESPN
Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 Preview
The New York Liberty square off against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Liberty have gone 16-4 at home. New York averages 85.6 points and has outscored opponents by 9.1 points per game.
The Lynx have gone 14-5 away from home. Minnesota leads the WNBA with 23.0 assists per game led by Courtney Williams averaging 5.5.
New York scores 85.6 points, 10.0 more per game than the 75.6 Minnesota gives up. Minnesota has shot at a 44.8% rate from the field this season, 2.3 percentage points above the 42.5% shooting opponents of New York have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sabrina Ionescu is averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 assists for the Liberty.
Williams is averaging 11.1 points and 5.5 assists for the Lynx.
LAST 10 GAMES: Liberty: 7-3, averaging 83.8 points, 36.5 rebounds, 20.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.3 points per game.
Lynx: 7-3, averaging 82.7 points, 30.3 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 6.5 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.9 points.
Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 Prediction
Take Napheesa Collier to go under 20.5 points. I took Collier to go over 21.5 points in the Lynx’s deciding Game 5 victory over the Sun on Tuesday night but this is a tougher matchup. When these two teams met on May 25 in Minnesota, Collier had a game-high in scoring, but she finished with only 15 points. When these two teams met again on July 2, this time in New York, Collier was again held to 15 points. In the final regular season game between these two teams in June 25, Collier scored just 18 points. She’s key to the Lynx’s success, but she just hasn’t fared well in previous meetings between these two teams, at least from a scoring standpoint.
Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 WNBA Prediction: Napheesa Collier under 20.5 points