The Minnesota Lynx defeated the New York Liberty in the first matchup of the WNBA Finals after erasing a 15-point deficit with just over five minutes left to play. Can the Liberty alleviate their broken heart by evening the series today?
Read below for my WNBA same game parlay for Lynx vs. Liberty Game 2 on Sunday, October 13.
WNBA Same Game Parlay for Lynx vs Liberty Game 2
- First Quarter Over 41.5 Points (-118)
- Leonie Fiebich 2+ Made Threes (-210)
Parlay Odds: +151 on FanDuel
New York and Minnesota finished the regular season as the top two squads in first quarter offensive rating, so both teams tend to open games strongly.
The Liberty’s starting lineup is the best in the league, and it showed in Game 1. When Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Leonie Fiebich, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones shared the court for 40 possessions, New York produced an incredible 1.1 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports.
This jumbo lineup dominated the boards and routinely stole extra possessions via offensive rebounds, which has been a problem for Minnesota’s defense all year. That shouldn’t change in Game 2, as New York’s opening-five are simply too big for the Lynx to handle.
The Liberty also feature elite 3-point shooting and self-created scoring, so they don’t even need the offensive rebounds to turn in a dominant offensive showing. If there’s any unit that can consistently break this Minnesota defense, it’s New York’s starting lineup.
On the other hand, the Lynx are the best 3-point shooting team and have a superstar scorer in Napheesa Collier. Although New York’s defense has the tools to limit the Lynx’s starters, the dam could easily burst given their amount of sharpshooters.
Finally, history definitely favors the over. Check out the first quarter totals across five matchups this season between the Lynx and Liberty.
- 48 points
- 50 points
- 42 points
- 47 points
- 51 points (Game 1)
Every game reached 42 points, and four of them easily accomplished the feat.
This first quarter line of 41.5 doesn’t make sense to me, so it may be a staple throughout the series if they continue to offer it.
During the regular season, the rookie shot 43.3% on triples and ranked in the 95th percentile in points per catch-and-shoot jumper. She’s somehow gotten better this postseason by shooting 18-for-31 from deep so far, including a 5-for-9 performance in Game 1 against Minnesota.
The Liberty secured 20 offensive rebounds during the series opener, which led to plenty of open catch-and-shoot looks. Fiebich benefited tremendously. The rookie should continue to see both quality and quantity here because Minnesota cannot box out New York’s size.
Given Fiebich’s smooth stroke, she does not need many attempts to knock down a pair of triples either.
