Early money on Aces moves line on WNBA Finals vs. Liberty

The series price climbed to -190 on Monday at the SuperBook after money showed on the defending WNBA champions.

“We took some wagers because the price was a little bit shorter than what’s out there at other places,” SuperBook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said.

The Aces, who are -250 series favorites at Boyd Gaming, are 4½-point favorites in Game 1 of the best-of-five series, and the total is 172.

“I thought this line would’ve been a little bit lower. A lot of places opened it at 5½. I played some Liberty plus-5½ because I thought this line should’ve been 4,” Sherman said.

New York, +170 at Caesars and BetMGM to win its first WNBA title, won three of five meetings with the Aces this season, including an 82-63 rout in the Commissioner’s Cup final Aug. 15 at Mandalay Bay.

“I think it’s going to be a really tough series for the Aces,” Sherman said. “The loss of Candace Parker looms large in this matchup with the Liberty. The Liberty have more depth. The Aces are fortunate to have held onto home-court advantage in the regular season.”

The teams split their four regular-season meetings, with each team winning at home twice.

“It’s going to be tough for the Aces to win two home games,” Sherman said. “I’d be surprised if they went 2-0 here. It’s going to be interesting to see if they can improve on their performance in New York.”

The Aces went 34-6 in the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed. They are led by 2022 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, former No. 1 WNBA draft picks Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, and 2022 WNBA Finals MVP Chelsea Gray.

The Liberty went 32-8 to claim the No. 2 seed. They’re led by 2023 league MVP Breanna Stewart, 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, former No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu and double-digit scorers Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot.

The SuperBook has a small liability on the Aces in Nevada and liability on the Liberty outside of the state, mostly in New Jersey.

“We’ve just been waiting out the time for this to happen,” Sherman said of the showdown.

Trades impact NBA odds

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics dropped to 4-1 co-favorites to win the 2024 NBA title following major trades by the Eastern Conference powers over the past week.

The Bucks moved from 7-1 to 4-1 after acquiring Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday as part of a three-team deal that sent Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday to Portland.

The Celtics dipped from +550 to 4-1 after acquiring Holiday from the Trail Blazers on Sunday for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and two first-round draft picks.

“When you look at the landscape of the East, the teams at the top have a more likely path to get through. The West is pretty solid up and down,” Sherman said. “There’s a large gap at this point between Boston and Milwaukee and the rest of the teams in the East.”

The defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets are the 5-1 third pick to win it all, followed by the Phoenix Suns at 7-1, the Los Angeles Lakers at 10-1 and the Golden State Warriors at 12-1.

Baseball playoffs

Playoff baseball is back with the four wild-card series starting Tuesday. The defending National League champion Phillies are -210 series favorites over the Marlins, and the Brewers are -200 favorites over the Diamondbacks.

In the American League, the Rays are -180 favorites over the Rangers after opening at -160, and the Blue Jays are -115 favorites over the Twins after Minnesota opened -120.

Texas represents the largest liability, at six figures, at the Westgate to win the World Series.

The Braves are the +260 favorites to win it all, followed by the Dodgers and Astros at +450, the Orioles at +650 and the Rays at 10-1.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.