By: Gabe Zoda
(Photo By Brandon Todd - New York Liberty)
The New York Liberty (32-8) come into the 2024 playoffs as the WNBA’s overall 1 seed. It hasn’t been as easy as the record shows as they’ve dealt with injuries, personal loss and a whole Olympic break in the middle of their season. All of that has now washed away into the Hudson river as the playoffs puts everyone back at equal standing. As Sandy Brondello always says, you can’t look too far ahead and you have to focus on what is right in front of you.
So what is in front of the New York Liberty in round 1? A super hungry and energetic Atlanta Dream squad that has been playing close to playoff basketball for the last month in order to secure the 8 seed. Usually, Liberty fans wouldn't be too worried about a 15 win 8 seed coming into Brooklyn but something feels different this time around. In the last game of the regular season, the Liberty lost 78-67 to this same Atlanta team where all of the NY starters played in. On one end, you can say “well NY wasn’t playing their hardest” or on the other hand you can look at that game and say “maybe Atlanta is going to be more of a challenge than we thought”.
So it begs the question of “What do the Liberty need to do in order to beat Atlanta”, let's go through it together.
LIGHT THE TORCH
To put it simply, NY needs to come out with the mentality of playing playoff basketball. Sandy Brondello always says “you can’t just flip the switch, the playoffs are a different animal and you have to come in with the right mindset”.
Problem is for NY, they haven’t been playing their best basketball, they’ve lost 2 of their last 3 games and they haven’t been getting off to good starts in games. In just that last game against Atlanta, NY got out scored 21-15 in the first quarter. NY does lead in the W in point differential in the 1st Quarter (and 4th) so that should calm the nerves of some fans.
Regardless of how “easy” it is to flip the switch in the playoffs, the Liberty need to make sure that they come out the gates firing and playing proper New York Liberty basketball.
(Photo by Brandon Todd - New York Liberty)
THE “SEAFOAM SNIPER” SHOWS UP
Sabrina Ionescu has had a year that contends for All-WNBA honors as her offensive game has only flourished. This year she is averaging 18.2 PPG (9th in W), 4.4 RPG (8th among guards) and 6.2 APG (5th in W). Her floater game has allowed her to be a real threat in all places on the court. With that, Sab’s passing ability has only gotten better with more time spent training with Jonquel Jones in the Pick and Roll game.
With that being said, Ionescu is shooting much worse from 3 this year (33% compared to 45% last season) and some fans are worried about which player she will be in the playoffs. Before the All-Star/Olympic break, Ionescu was avering 19.8 PPG, was shooting 36% from 3 and looked like a sleeper candidate for MVP. Since that break, she has averaged 15 PPG and has shot 29% from 3.
Even worse, in her last 7 games she’s averaged 12 PPG and has shot the 3 at 30%. In these recent shooting struggles, she has been passing the ball more as she has averaged 7.1 APG in her last 7 games.
The strength of this team, from last year to this one, was that there would be less “Stewie ball” and more of a balanced scoring effort. Going into the playoffs, it’s looking more like Breanna Stewart needs to go off unless Sabrina Ionescu finds her shot again.
HOLD ON TO THE CROWN
Atlanta have been incredible on the defensive end in their last 8 games. They’ve been forcing 16 turnovers per game and have held opponents to 79 PPG. In the beginning of the season, Dream 1st year Head Coach Tanisha Wright spoke about how the team needed to focus on the little things and how that would help them. It’s been effective as these little things on defense have made all the difference recently.
In games that the NY Liberty have turned the ball over 16 times this year, they are 5-5. Furthermore, in games in which NY scores 79 or fewer points they are 8-5. This only means that If NY wants to win, you have to hold on to the ball.
Sandy Brondello was asked about the TOs after the Mystics game where NY only had 2 TOs in the second half and she said that they stopped trying to do too much, they kept the passes simple. This needs to be the strategy all playoffs long. Especially against a team in Atlanta that is looking to push the pace and get into those passing lanes.
The Turnover problem has been real for NY all season. In stretches, they’ve looked amazing at limiting TO’s, other times they find themselves doing too much. So they need to sure up that part of the game in this series and beyond.
“BENCH PLAYERS TALKING LIKE STARTERS” … I LOVE IT
The bench for NY has been one of the most talked about aspects to this 2024 edition of the New York Liberty. Last season, there were serious concerns over the bench and even before this season started, many thought that NY didn’t do enough. It’s fair to say they were wrong.
Leonie Fiebich has been a star in her rookie season, averaging just under 7 points per game but her 3 point shot has changed the dynamic of this team. In her last 8 games, Leonie Fiebich is shooting 62% from 3 point land. It’s not just her shooting though as she’s been as effective on the defensive end with 1.8 steals per game in her last 8 games. There’s no question she deserves recognition for 6POTY and an all Rookie team placement.
Outside of Leo, the question marks start to fly in as fans don’t entirely know what to expect from Kayla Thornton and Nyara Sabally.
Kayla Thornton has been a menace on defense as usual but her 3 point shot has really taken a dip in recent games. Before the All-Star/ Olympic break, KT was shooting a career best 39% from 3. After that break? Well, she’s down to 31%. If she’s going to play a big role, which she needs to, she has got to get back to hitting those.
Nyara has been playing much better as of late, which should make Liberty fans excited going into the playoffs. In her last 8 games, she’s averaging 8 points per game on 61% shooting. She’s been getting downhill on the pick and rolls, using her speed in certain isolation opportunities and has also been doing a nice job rebounding with an average of 5 RPG in 16 minutes per game (last 8 games).
Teams will try to get Jonquel Jones into foul trouble, so it’s important to have a peaking backup center to fill that role or have someone who can play next to JJ at times, which we’ve seen and Sabally has flourished in that role as well.
NOBODY SAID IT WOULD BE EASY
Winning a championship is hard, we know this, and so do the players in that locker room. The best attribute that this team has is their togetherness. This team loves each other and have had so many experiences with each other already. It’s those experiences that keep this team going during rough times in games. It’s having the trust in your teammates that stops the train from coming off the rails. It’s what makes championship teams achieve their goals.
That’s what this team has, you’ve seen it on social media for Stewie’s birthday. We all watch it together every night on the court. Winning a championship takes that chemistry, chemistry that NY didn’t have last year. It takes that mental aspect, that trust and buy-in from every player up and down that roster.
Ultimately, that’s all this team needs to beat Atlanta or win a championship. They need to count on each other and.they need a crowd to give them the extra boost to keep pushing. If they do that? The crown might find its way to where it’s belonged for a very long time.
The New York Liberty start their playoff march on Sunday, 1pm in Brooklyn.Make sure to stay updated on all things New York Liberty by following @SSN_Liberty on X
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