Liberty begin a weekend back-to-back in Las Vegas

Two for the road. The NY Liberty put together another good showing and came away with an excellent win at home against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night in Westchester. This is the first night of a back-to-back. They're in LA to play the Sparks tomorrow.

The opponent tonight will be the Las Vegas Aces. Vegas is predicted to be a championship contender, but they're off to an eh start. They lost their last game, which happened to be against the Liberty on Sunday. They've been off since then.

Where to follow the game

League Pass has you covered. It's a late night affair so this one's tipping off after 10:30 PM.

Injuries

Rebecca Allen of the Liberty will miss at least two weeks with a finger injury.

Sydney Colson of the Aces is questionable as she works her way back from a concussion.

The game

The Liberty won the first meeting a few days ago.

With the basketball world on edge following Kevin Durant's Achilles injury, it's put the Aces strategy of managing their star's Achilles injury in perspective. Star center Liz Cambage has been working her way back from tendinitis and bursitis in her Achilles from last season. She's appeared in four of Vegas' five games this season and has gradually increased her minutes in each game. Coach Bill Laimbeer said Cambage will play around 25 minutes a game as she continues to work her way back. He also said:

“We’re almost there, and we don’t want to have any setbacks at this point. It’s a long season, and we expect her to be here for a lot of years. What does one game mean in the scheme of things?”

Sometimes it pays to not just throw your star in the deep end of the pool when they're just coming off of a serious injury.

With Cambage back, it adds to a star studded Vegas squad. With Kelsey Plum, A'Ja Wilson, and Cambage, Vegas has a mix of star power, inside scoring and deep shooting. With injuries to some stars across the league mixed in with a few departures, Bill Laimbeer should have this team in great position to make a run in the fall.

Having Asia Durr back opens things up for NY. After missing Sunday's game, the rookie came back with her best showing of the year. Vegas has arguably the best backcourt in the league so if Durr can put a good one together, it'll go a long way in boosting her confidence.

Player to watch: Kayla McBride

So far, McBride has been the best player on the team as she leads Vegas in scoring and field goal percentage. She leads a balanced attack and already has a good game against the Liberty to her name for this season.

Kia Nurse will look to follow up her best game of the season tonight. Nurse made four three pointers on Sunday, and the Liberty are going to need something similar tonight. The Liberty are in the bottom third of the league in three point efficidncy, so they need Nurse to go off so they can keep pace with Vegas’ league leading efficiency from three.

Jam session

"It's Friday night and the weekend's here..."

• Preview: New York looks to win second consecutive game against the Aces, plus three more Friday night games - Zackery Rogers - Swish Appeal