The New York Liberty will begin the second half of their WNBA schedule on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night. The Liberty, who went 4-8 in the 12 games leading up to the All-Star break, are looking to regain momentum after a dip in their overall record.
Prior to Tuesday's matchup, oddsmakers favored the Liberty, setting the spread at Liberty -4.5 with an Over/Under of 183.5.
Both teams are facing uncertainty regarding key players. The Liberty's Kelsey Plum has been sidelined for a month with an injury sustained during a previous game against the Sparks. Satou Sabally has also been out since late June due to a concussion. Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart is expected to play after logging significant minutes in the WNBA All-Star Game. Stewart has appeared in all but one game for the Liberty this season, ranking sixth in total minutes played.
With Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu having missed time, Stewart has shouldered a larger scoring load. She is averaging career highs in points in the paint (11.2) and free throw attempts (7.3) this season. The Sparks have struggled defensively, particularly in the paint where they allow 42.5 points per game, and from beyond the arc, where opponents attempt 27.2 three-pointers per game, both ranking second-worst in the league.
In their previous encounter in June, Stewart scored 18 points against the Sparks. Despite a 0-for-4 performance from three-point range in that game, she had been on a hot streak from deep before the All-Star break, converting 41 percent of her three-point attempts over the preceding nine games. Given the Sparks' defensive vulnerabilities, Stewart is expected to have opportunities both inside and from distance.
One betting prediction focuses on Stewart's scoring prop, set at 21.5 points. This figure is close to her season average and a mark she has exceeded in five of her last 10 games. The bet favors the Over on Stewart's points prop for Tuesday's game.