New York Liberty vs Washington Mystics

Two of the league's top defensive teams from last year open the new season tonight in Washington. New York was fourth in the WNBA in points given up while allowing j42.52% shooting. New York’s bench is a weak spot, lacking reliable depth, and is without Marine Johannès (7.1 ppg), who is sitting out the season. Washington was fifth in the WNBA in points surrendered while the offense was eighth in the 12-team league in scoring and ninth in shooting. Washington is rebuilding on offense after losing leading-scorer Elena Delle Donne (16.7 ppg) and third-leading Natasha Cloud (12.7 ppg). Take New York/Washington UNDER the total. 

Washington will try to stay alive in the playoffs after losing Game 1 of the three-game series 90-75 on Friday while shooting only 41.3 percent. The game went OVER by two points, and the Mystics are on a 5-0 run OVER against teams with winning records. The Mystics are getting double digits again and they are 5-1 ATS the past six meetings with New York, including an outright 90-88 victory in the regular season finale. Washington will need to shoot better from the 3-point line as it hit only 5 of 22 in Game 1. Myisha Hines-Allen led the Mystics with 21 points after averaging only 5.6 points this season. Washington is 4-1-1 ATS its past six after a loss and 6-2 OVER following an ATS loss. New York is 11-3 OVER versus Eastern Conference opponents. Take the Mystics and the OVER. 

Washington ended the regular season on a 5-2 ATS run capped by a 90-88 win over New York on Sunday as a 10.5-point underdog and it went OVER by 15.5 points. Now the Mystics play the Liberty again in the first round of the playoffs after splitting the season series at two games apiece and covering the spread in all four and the last three went OVER. The Mystics hit 50 percent of their shots on Sunday and held New York to 41 percent overall and 32 percent from 3-point range. The Liberty have gone OVER six of eight games, including their past three by an average of 17.6 points. Washington has gone OVER four straight versus opponents with winning records and New York is 10-3 OVER against the Eastern Conference. Play the Mystics and the OVER.

New York still has a slim chance of gaining the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but they have to win and Las Vegas must lose and then it will go to some tiebreakers which will be determined by today's results. Washington has clinched a spot in the postseason and could improve its seeding with a win. The Liberty have soared OVER the total their past two games by an average of 18.8 points following their 96-89 win over Los Angeles on Thursday when they shot nearly 50 percent. New York scores 89.3 points per game and the Mystics average 80.3 and they are 5-2 OVER after an ATS loss. The OVER is 9-3 in the Liberty's past 12 games versus the Eastern Conference and they are 5-2 OVER following a win. Take the OVER as a Max Play.

New York had its four-game win streak ended in a 98-88 loss to Dallas on Wednesday, but the Liberty now have the opportunity to start a new streak against Washington, which has lost five of eight and the Mystics are just 2-4 ATS their past six games, including a 82-76 loss to Indiana two days ago. The teams have split two meetings this season and the Mystics are 1-6 ATS their past seven games versus opponents with winning records and New York has covered four in a row following a loss. Four of Washington's past five wins have come against Chicago, Indiana and Seattle, who have a combined record of 18-45. New York leads the Eastern Conference with the second-best record in the WNBA. Lay the points with the Liberty as my Game of the Month Max Play.