The 2022 WNBA Playoffs get going tonight, and two best-of-three series are ready to unfold. Below we will preview tonight’s matchups that will kick off the postseason. The Game 1s that will be played tonight are: New York Liberty at Chicago Sky (-7.5) and Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces (-14.5). Check out a breakdown of each game below, as well as my favorite WNBA picks today, and playoff predictions for Game 1.
WNBA Picks Today: Round 1 Playoff Betting Predictions
WNBA Pick: Liberty vs. Sky Game 1
Both of these teams have a clean injury report. However, the Liberty might have a few more questions than the Sky in this one. Natasha Howard seems like she’s returned to pre-ankle sprain form in her last couple of games, but that could pop back up. Betnijah Laney has been back from her knee surgery for a few games now, and she’s looked good. However, she has yet to hit that 30-minute mark in five games since she returned, a number that she went over in every game of the season before she was injured.
These teams played four times in the regular season, and the Sky went 3-1 in the series. When these matchups were played in Chicago, the Sky won by 33 points and 8 points for an average margin of victory of over 20 a game. Tonight’s matchup is also in Chicago, and the atmosphere should be electric as the defending champions prepare for another deep run.
The Liberty have played well recently, as they went 7-3 over their last 10 games of the year. They are coming off of a three-game win streak that secured them a playoff spot. However, it’s important to note that most of those games came against struggling teams such as the Dream, the Wings without Arike Ogunbowale, the Mercury and the reeling Sparks twice. Now the Liberty will have a tough playoff matchup against a multi-dimensional Sky team that should overmatch them in almost every aspect.
If most things stay true to form, Chicago shouldn’t have too much trouble in this game (or series) against New York. The Sky should win game one of this opening series in front of their exuberant home crowd.
WNBA Playoff Prediction Today: Chicago Sky -7.5
Check out Cooper’s 2022 WNBA Playoff Picks & Predictions Today for the Liberty vs. Sky and Mercury vs. Aces.
WNBA Pick: Mercury vs. Aces Game 1
The Mercury and Aces have faced each other three times this year, with the Aces winning all three games by an average of 16.6 points per game. Throughout the season series, the Mercury had a healthier and more competent team than they do now. They’re currently without Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith, along with not having Tina Charles, as they did in the first two games between these teams. The typical starting lineup for Phoenix when they faced Las Vegas this year consisted of Taurasi, Diggins-Smith, Shey Peddy, Brianna Turner and Charles. They lost all three of those games by an average of 17 points. Now they will start Diamond DeShields, Peddy, Turner, Jennie Sims and Sophie Cunningham. This is a notably worse lineup in an away playoff game against the No. 1 scoring team in the WNBA. Meanwhile, the only injury that the Aces are dealing with is Dearica Hamby, but Kiah Stokes has stepped in and played solid minutes for Las Vegas in recent games.
In the Mercury’s last five losses, they came up short due to a lack of scoring. They scored just 68 points per game over that span. On the other hand, the Aces have scored 96 points per game over their last five wins. They also scored an average of 97 points per game over their three regular season games against Phoenix, whereas the Mercury scored an average of just 81 points per game. Again, that was with a substantially better and healthier roster available.
It’s worth noting that the Aces have been on an absolute tear in their recent games. Over their last 10 wins, they had an average margin of victory of 15.2 points. This average also factors in tough games against Seattle, Chicago, Washington and Connecticut. Las Vegas should have no issues tonight dismantling a Mercury team that is already extremely depleted, and the same thing goes for the series as a whole.
WNBA Playoff Prediction Today: Las Vegas Aces -14.5
