Mystics 90, Liberty 88: It’s time

This season the Liberty established themselves as elite. Next up: establishing themselves as champs

The New York Liberty’s best regular season ever ended with a 90-88 loss to the Washington Mystics. The Liberty opened the season being defeated by the Mystics. I nearly wrote “by these same Mystics,” only that’d be a lie. The Mystics then weren’t who they are now, nor are the Liberty. The Mystics finished 19-21, yet were the only team to beat the Liberty twice and the only team to knock off both New York and Las Vegas. Washington and New York face off in a best-of-3 series starting Friday that feels closer than most 2-vs.-7 seeds.

The game ended on a buzzer-beating inbounds care of Brittney Sykes (I tried to share a clip of it, but it keeps being rejected; I assume Elon Musk’s dickery is responsible). Breanna Stewart was in the lane, her focus presumably on Elena Delle Donne, for good reason – EDD is a 7-time All-Star. Delle Donne cleverly slid into a sideways screen of Courtney Vandersloot, freeing up Sykes to curl around both defenders. Stewart recognized the action a fraction of a second too late; though she did her best to get out and contest Sykes without fouling, it’s too little, too late. What stands out isn’t Stewart’s defense, nor even, for me, Sykes’ game-winner. It’s who’s practically off-screen, and why.

That’d be Liberty defensive star Betnijah Laney, whom the Mystics have nearly running into the Potomac chasing after Li Meng. The Washington rookie has added another long-ball threat to one of the WNBA’s better 3-point shooting teams, making the third-most threes of any rookie in franchise history. She’d already canned a couple against New York, so Laney was going to stick with her no matter how far from the hoop. That’s one less defender to be near enough to bother Sykes.

Saying these two teams aren’t the same as they were a few months ago isn’t some banal platitude. The Liberty have grown and deepened over their first year as a superteam; the counterpoint to the steady brilliance of Stewart, Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu being the improved health and play of Jonquel Jones and Stefanie Dolson, the Liberty’s two centers. That’s huge, literally and figuratively, since the Mystics feature the 6-foot-5 Delle Donne as well as one of the league’s best young bigs in 6-foot-5 Shakira Austin as well as the 6-foot-4 reserve Queen Egbo.

But injuries have been a snag tugging at Washington all year long. Delle Donne and Ariel Atkins both missed significant stretches with ankle injuries; that’s two starters with multiple All-Star selections to their names. Austin played six games after returning from an injured hip, but was a DNP for the Mystics’ final four contests. If they’re healthy, they may be the W’s best bet after the Aces to give the Liberty a fight. If they’re not, they’re still a tough draw. But it’s hard to see anyone shorthanded, maybe even the Candace Parker-less Aces, giving a fully loaded Liberty squad any trouble.

Here we are, then. It’s time. The Liberty’s best regular season ever was never the point. The best laid plans of last summer – and honestly, pro’ly even earlier – all pointed to the crucible to come: the playoffs. New York enters with the bitter aftertaste of a buzzer-beater. Best way to rinse that out is champagne. We’ll see if it’s time for that soon enough.