After which there have been two. The No. 1-seed the New York Liberty will face the No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx within the 2024 WNBA Finals.
New York is attempting to win its first WNBA title in franchise historical past, with Minnesota is attempting to win its fifth. As the perfect staff within the WNBA, the Liberty will host Recreation 1 on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Which staff will take the primary sport? And what is the path to every staff incomes that first win?
How the Liberty will win
They’ve the perfect document, dwelling court docket and Spike Lee. The Liberty have all of the momentum on the planet to take Recreation 1. Nonetheless, these are narratives; execution might be mandatory.
Which means Sabrina Ionescu taking over the Lynx guards, staying aggressive and getting Breanna Stewart concerned early and infrequently, in addition to Jonquel Jones staying out of foul bother. We should always count on Leonie Fiebich to proceed beginning, as she has all through this playoff run, and Courtney Vandersloot to maintain coming off the bench.
In head-to-head matchups, the Lynx have overwhelmed the Liberty, profitable the season sequence 2-1. Minnesota additionally received the Commissioner’s Cup in opposition to New York, 94-89. So whereas New York has lots going for them, they’re going to need to be on high of their sport, along with disrupting Naphessa Collier as a lot as attainable, to come back out with a win on Thursday night time.
How the Lynx will win
Street wins within the WNBA Finals are value their weight in gold. If Minnesota desires to get the upset, they’ll want an MVP efficiency from Collier. Which is totally attainable, on condition that she’s averaging 27.1 factors and 9.6 rebounds per sport in these playoffs.
Guard play would be the X issue for the Lynx. They’ll must sustain with New York’s firepower. If Courtney Williams can get going and rating 18 to twenty factors on this contest, it’ll go an extended method to serving to the Lynx steal Recreation 1.
Minnesota was the perfect 3-point capturing staff throughout the common season, capturing 38 % from deep. They’ve primarily maintained that common within the playoffs, hitting 37.2 % of their makes an attempt from past the arc. The issue for the Lynx is the Liberty have been simply nearly as good, additionally averaging 37.2 % from 3 throughout this postseason.
This sequence needs to be a troublesome, aggressive battle. No matter who wins Recreation 1, count on this to go the space. Each groups have been the perfect within the league, and the hole between them is as small as could be.
Recreation info
No. 1-seed New York Liberty vs. No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx
When: Thursday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET
The place: Barclays Heart in Brooklyn, NY
The best way to watch: ESPN
Liberty damage report: none
Lynx damage report: none
