Liberty vs Mystics Picks and Prediction – 5/14/2024

The New York Liberty visit Capital One Arena on Tuesday to play the Washington Mystics in the opening game of the 2024 WNBA season for both teams. Last season, New York finished second in the WNBA at 32-8, two games behind the Las Vegas Aces. Last season New York added talent such as Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot who joined talent such as Sabrina Ionescu, but the Liberty were not able to overcome the Aces in the WNBA finals. Keep up with the WNBA, with our expert WNBA picks

In the draft, New York took Marquesha Davis, a guard from Ole Miss to shore up the perimeter defense. Last season Stewart was the leading scorer for New York with an average of 23.0 points per game and was the leading rebounder, averaging 9.3 per game. Vandersloot was the leader in assists with an average of 8.1 per game. Ionescu averaged 17.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game giving the Liberty one of the toughest offenses in the WNBA.

The Washington Mystics finished fifth in the WNBA last season at 19-21. On Saturday, Washington acquired Jade Melbourne, a guard, from the Seattle Storm. Injuries hurt Washington last season and two of last season's three top scorers are not returning. Elena Delle Donne will sit out this season and Natasha Cloud signed with Phoenix in free agency. 

Brittney Sykes, who had her best season last year making the all defensive first team for the WNBA, returns. Shakira Austin and Ariel Atkins, both limited last season by injury, are also back. Stefanie Dolson, who played the first three seasons in the NBA with Washington, has returned to the Mystics after playing for both Chicago and New York.