Indiana Fever vs. New York Liberty Expert Pick And Predictions – May 18, 2024

INDIANA FEVER  VS. NEW YORK LIBERTY EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTIONS—MAY 18, 2024—Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome to our WNBA coverage here at Godzilla Wins. One of the games on tap from today’s slate features the Indiana Fever (0-2) taking  on the New York Liberty (2-0)

Here is a look at which squad has the edge going into this matchup and why.

Tipoff

When: Saturday, May 18, 2024 @ 1:00 PM ET

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn,  NY

TV: ABC

Indiana Fever vs. New York Liberty Odds

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Indiana Fever vs. New York Liberty Odds – In-Season Stats & Betting Trends

Can The Fever Bounce Back From A  Crushing Loss Against The Liberty?

Despite a seven-year playoff absence, the Fever came into the 2024 campaign with high expectations after selecting Caitlin  Clark with the top overall pick in the year’s  WNBA Draft. As expected, her transition from the collegiate to the pro game has been anything but smooth. In her debut against the Connecticut Sun, she finished with 20 points, three assists, and two steals. However, she shot 5-for-15 from the field and 4-for-11 from distance.

When the Liberty and Fever squared off two days ago, the contest was one-sided, as New York cruised to an easy 102-66 victory in Clark’s home debut. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston, scored a game-high 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Kate Samuelson added 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field. Clark finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists on 2-for-8 shooting from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Although the numbers were not overly spectacular, she did have just three turnovers after committing 10 turnovers in her WNBA debut.

Can The Liberty Hold  The Fever and Clark In Check Again?

Meanwhile, the Liberty have picked up where they left off last season. After falling to the Las  Vegas Aces in last year’s WNBA Finals series,  New York has posted wins in both of its games this season. In their 85-80 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night, the Liberty overcame an eight-point deficit by outscoring Washington 26-13 in the final frame. Jonquel Jones paced the team’s offense with 25 points and eight rebounds.

There wasn’t much drama in New York’s 102-66 win over the Fever on Thursday. The road team led by a comfortable 48-31 margin at the break. Although Indiana did trim the deficit to 11 points (67-56) going into the final frame, the Liberty scored the first 12 points of the quarter and never looked back.

Two-time MVP Breanna Stewart turned in a solid performance with 31 points on 12-for-22 shooting from the floor. She also tallied 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

New York — who leads the association in scoring defense (73 PPG) — put together a spectacular effort at that end of the court.  Indiana shot 36.7 percent overall and just 26.3 percent from the 3-point line.

Can the Fever make this a competitive matchup this time around, or will the Liberty roll to another easy victory?

Now that we have set the table for this matchup let’s examine the betting trends for both teams.

The Spread

Following their Game 36-point victory over the Fever in their last outing,  the Liberty are a 14-point favorite. Here is a look at how both teams have fared against the spread.

• The Fever are 1-4 ATS in their last five games.
• Indiana is 1-6 ATS in its last seven matchups against New York.
• The Liberty are 6-1 ATS in their last seven contests against Indiana.
• In its last five games against Indiana, New York is 4-1 against the spread.
• The Liberty have won each of the last five matchups between these two teams, with an average margin of victory of 18 points per contest.

Prediction: New  York Liberty (-14)

Over/Under

The projected over/under total for this matchup is 168.5 points. Here is why going with the “over” is the smart choice.

• The total has gone OVER seven times in the Fever’s last eight road games against New York.
• In the Liberty’s last 15 games, the OVER total is 11-4.
• The OVER total is 4-1 in New York’s last five home games against Indiana.

Prediction: OVER 168.5 points

Player Prop Bet

Following her 31-point outing against Indiana on Thursday, Stewart is the key player to watch in this matchup. She currently has -115 odds of scoring more than 20.5 points and -115 odds of finishing with less than 20.5 points.

Here is a look at how her numbers stack up against the projected points total for this matchup.

• Stewart is averaging 19.5 points and nine rebounds per contest on 50 percent shooting this season.
• In four matchups against the Fever last season,  she averaged 29.0 points per contest.
• Stewart scored 31 points in her lone contest against Indiana this season.
• Over her last five outings, Stewart has averaged 16.6 points per contest, exceeding the points total for this matchup only once during that stretch.

Given the previous matchup between these teams, Stewart may not see much court time. Considering that, I am going with the “under” for Stewart in this one.

Prediction: Breanna Stewart UNDER 20.5 points