Washington Mystics vs New York Liberty: Prediction, Starting Lineups and Odds | 2024 WNBA Season (May 31)

The reeling Washington Mystics will be in Brooklyn on Friday to take on the New York Liberty. Washington pushed the hosts in the season opener before eventually succumbing to an 85-80 defeat. The Mystics, which lost six straight games following that defeat, will be hoping to finally get over the hump in the rematch.

The Liberty played like it expected the Mystics to roll over in their first encounter and were nearly punished for it. It took them a big fourth-quarter rally to pull off their first WNBA win of the season. They will try not to make that same mistake in the next showdown between the two teams.

Brittney Sykes, who had a double-double in the first encounter between the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty will not be around. She is out with an ankle injury which will make it even tougher for the visitors to get some payback for their opening day loss.

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Washington Mystics vs New York Liberty: Preview, starting lineups and prediction

Barclays Center will host the rematch between the Mystics and the Liberty. ION will air the game on national TV via subscription while streaming is also available using the WNBA League Pass.

Moneyline: Mystics (+850) vs. Liberty (-1400)

Spread: Mystics (+15.0) vs. Liberty (-15.0)

Total (O/U): Mystics (o161.0 -110) vs. Liberty (u161.0 -110)

Editor’s Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of the writing.

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Washington Mystics vs New York Liberty: Game preview

The offense has been the Washington Mystics’ biggest issue this season, a problem that will continue with Brittney Sykes out. They shoot just 39.6%, the worst in the WNBA and have the worst offensive rating (90.5) among all teams by a wide margin. The Indiana Fever, the second-worst squad in the said category, is at 96.7.

Ariel Atkins, Karlie Samuelson, Stefanie Dolson and the others will have to answer the bell to prevent the hosts from turning the game into a rout.

After back-to-back losses to Chicago and Minnesota, the New York Liberty bounced back with an 81-78 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday. New York limited its turnovers and crashed the boards to break out of its slump. It will have to keep that same strategy and avoid being lackadaisical to make it 2-0 versus Washington this season.

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Washington Mystics vs New York Liberty: Starting lineups, subs and rotations

C - Stefanie Dolson, C - Shakira Austin, G - Julie Vanloo, G - Karlie Samuelson and G - Ariel Atkins will again start for the Washington Mystics.

Myisha Hines-Allen and Aaliyah Edwards will have the first shot at coming off the bench first. Mystics coach Eric Thibault has used either one as the initial substitute based on how his team is doing.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello will have F - Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, F - Breanna Stewart, F - Jonquel Jones, G - Sabrina Ionescu and G - Courtney Vandersloot open the game for the New York Liberty.

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Washington Mystics vs New York Liberty: Prediction

The Washington Mystics have suffered a blowout loss just once this season when they were blasted 101-69 by the Seattle Storm on Saturday. Even if injury-hampered, they will compete to the very end. But at the same time, their grit and resilience have not been enough because of their inefficient execution on offense.

The New York Liberty are healthy and have regained their focus after two stinging losses early in the season. Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Co. will likely emerge as winners but Washington could cover the massive +15.0 spread.