The offensive game-plan early was pretty strong; set plays were run through the post as a workaround to GSV\u2019s defensive pressure. In the flow, Jonquel Jones was often stationed at the top of the key, meaning she was a frequent pick-and-roll ball-handler early…<\/p>\n
New York just couldn\u2019t make a shot in the first quarter. That\u2019s basketball, Suzyn. Golden State really tightened up their switching as the game went on (great defensive team!), but I feel like the Libs could have kept spamming Jonquel as pick-and-roll handler…<\/p>\n
This is asking a great deal of your 6\u20196\u201d big, but on defense, NYL tried to lighten JJ\u2019s load by keeping ball-screens out of the middle and funneling drivers to her in drop. They had some really strong possessions and I thought Sabrina Ionescu cleared a low bar of defensive improvement on Sunday night. Here, Sabrina denies Williams the middle. With JJ parked in the lane, Williams takes a decently tough three NYL lives with…<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another encouraging stat other than the turnovers: By my count, the New York Liberty had nine late-clock possessions in the half-court in the first matchup (as in, the shot-clock dipped below 6.0 nine times.) On Sunday, on a similar number of possessions, the Liberty played late into the clock just three times.<\/p>\n
The Liberty couldn\u2019t make shots from anywhere really, and when the game started slipping away, players took a few unnecessary home-run swings (like that Leonie Fiebich one-handed turnover in transition), but the Valks didn\u2019t grind them to a halt, in my eyes.<\/p>\n
Of course, individual players have to be better, including Ionescu…<\/p>\n
That said, we saw glimpses of potential for the Astier-Ionescu backcourt. Sabrina got a couple good catch-and-shoot looks off of Astier drives, and just as importantly, Astier was able to apply rim pressure off-the-catch. She has some wild quick twitch-ability (particularly compared to her teammates) that could get her to the rim even if defenders sag off her during a Ionescu-run pick-and-roll. I think the Liberty will close big games with Ionescu + two wings + two bigs, and Marine Johann\u00e8s will have a bigger role in games where she\u2019s clearly feeling it from deep … but again, Astier\/Ionescu is a real exciting partnership in my eyes.<\/p>\n
I also think Chris DeMarco & Co. are breaking through with Jonquel Jones. She\u2019s handling far more in the pick-and-roll, is bombing away from deep, but is also using her size to drive mismatches. Jones will still post-up and seal switches, but it feels different from seasons past, where the only way to get her near the basket is a stale attempt to post her up. Given how lopsided the officiating is for drivers vs. post-up players, she\u2019s now facing a bit less resistance on her way to the bucket (it helps that she\u2019s a ridiculous outside shooter).<\/p>\n
Scoring 29 points in the first half of a nationally televised game invites slander. So does a 12-8 record, if you\u2019re the overwhelming betting favorite to win the title. But I can\u2019t find too many reasons to panic about the New York Liberty. It\u2019s natural to run out of gas on the last leg of a road trip, and frankly, I don\u2019t have high hopes for their stamina level against the Aces on Tuesday night. (Let\u2019s just emphasize again: The Valkyries were awesome defensively. The Liberty mostly met the challenge, but the well-rested home team was the first to hit shots, an unrecoverable blow for New York. Even Stewie, for goodness sakes, was lapsing on defense.)<\/p>\n
If there is one long-term worry outside of Sabally\u2019s health and Ionescu\u2019s hopeful progression to her mean, it\u2019s the backup wing\/forward spots. Raquel Carrera is clearly talented, but she\u2019s still on the steep end of the learning curve. Asking her to provide positive playoff minutes this season is a big ask. Han Xu, meanwhile, has earned a higher spot in the rotation, and not just because she\u2019s hitting jumpers. This looks like a simple play, but containing a driver in drop and switching back off constitutes real progress for Han, and at 6\u201911\u201d, that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n
Do you trust Han as the third big in a playoff setting? That\u2019s not a rhetorical question, to be clear, but one the Liberty will have to figure out before the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
As for the wings, Rebekah Gardner is a fine 8th or 9th rotation player. Flawed? Yes. But she is constantly generating extra possessions for the Liberty with her hustle, whether grabbing offensive boards or generating opponent turnovers. Not to harp on it too much, but Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is the wildcard right now. I am not reporting any strife, but merely wondering aloud if she\u2019s going to settle into playing a dozen minutes a night after averaging 30 over her first four seasons with the Liberty. We\u2019ve got about three weeks until the All-Star break, and I think it\u2019s something of a \u201cprove-it\u201d stretch for the franchise legend, never an easy situation.<\/p>\n
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