Lynx 84, Liberty 67: Putting the two Ls in “What the hell?”
A meeting with the Lynx turned into a meeting with reality and a second straight loss for the Liberty
Surprising or not, this much is true: last season the New York Liberty were 7-0 following a loss. This season, following yesterday’s 84-67 defeat to the Minnesota Lynx, they are 0-1 after Ls. On consecutive nights, the Liberty – with the reigning MVP, two of the last three MVPs and one of the WNBA’s best defenders, if not the best – have shrunk in the face of adversity in its physical form.
It was nice to see Breanna Stewart open things up for New York and take – and make – a couple more shots in the first quarter than she did in the loss to the Sky.
Bridget Carleton put in the first bucket for the Lynx, a 3-pointer. Thus ensued a back and forth, featuring the usual suspects for both sides: Napheesa Collier, Courtney Vandersloot, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Williams and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton all contributed baskets. Jonquel Jones chimed in with two points of her own, making it 15-13 Liberty seven minutes in – the last time they led.
By the end of the first Minnesota was up 31-17 and never looked back. They did glance in the rearview for a six-minute stint in the second quarter, when the Liberty went on a 22-4 run to close the deficit to four. But the Lynx settled back in halfway through the third, going on a 14-3 run that secured their footing for the final frame, when New York’s tour de force looked more like a tour de forced: rushed shots, turnovers and ultimately Sandy Brondello waving the white flag with 1:49 to go and her team down 18.
Thursday at Barclays, Chicago played hard-nosed ball, contesting every shot, dominating almost every paint possession. It wasn’t a dissimilar story against Minnesota, but they evened their attack out to all three levels – particularly from deep, draining half their threes while enjoying a +21 advantage – making it an even more troubling loss for New York, now 4-2 on the year.
Notes
Turnovers cost the Liberty again. But the defensive effort with which they respond to those turnovers is what’s twisting the knife in the already opened wound. A year ago they gave up 15 points per game off of 14.2 turnovers (1.06 per); in the past two games, it’s 44 off of 32 (1.38).
The great 3-point drought of 2024 continues. New York shot 24% from deep in this one on 25 attempts, only 12% sans rookie Leonie Fiebich. Sabrina and Stewie are a combined 18-of-71. Something’s got to give.
Fiebich scored a WNBA career-high 11 in a career-high 19 minutes. She’s no Marine Johannès, but who is? And who’s to say she can’t be by the end of the season? She’s filling the role so far. Among the many recommendations I’d offer Coach Brondello is to continue trusting in Fiebich.
Jones has gone from dominant the first four games to dominated the last two – and not by any one player. She remains a foul magnet, some of her own accord and some because of the official or opponent. Jones has been whistled for five fouls in back-to-back games. Her rhythm is being disrupted, and constantly, leading to consecutive single-digit scoring efforts after double-digits the first four.
Collier was absolutely dominant despite foul troubles of her own, finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. After watching Angel Reese guard Stewie as well as anyone last game, I thought Napheesa was the other side of the coin in this one, making her work double-time on defense.
Laney-Hamilton has played 30 or more minutes every game except one this season. How does Tom Thibodeau keep getting away with this?
Vandersloot had as little to do with the loss in this one as any player in a Liberty uniform could have: 12 points, six assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block in 27 minutes. She was brilliant early and even backed off some of the pass-first tendencies to look for her own shot. And she was a key catalyst in that second-quarter run.
Sabrina was a team-worst -27 in 26 minutes, and the shoe fits. When things are going wrong it’s too easy to say that Ionescu is shooting her team out of it – that’s not the case. But she’s not keeping them in it, either. As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle: Sabrina needs to shoot better than 36% from the field, but the Liberty as a whole need to play better, too.
Shoutout to Courtney Williams, who I’ve always found a joy to watch. Except when she’s playing the Liberty. Some things never change. The veteran point guard finished with seven points, five assists, and four rebounds.
After going to the bench early against the Sky, Brondello showed some pause against the Lynx. Nyara Sabally played 13 minutes, Kayla Thornton seven and Kennedy Burke five. There’s no doubt that this New York team, with all of its roster turnover having happened on the bench, is still consciously figuring some things out.
Back-to-back losses against the Lynx and the Sky, of all teams, is no reason to panic. But the disjointed, trigger-happy nature of the Liberty offense is at a minimum cause for some concern; 67 points was their fewest in a regular-season game since last year’s season opener, the superteam’s literal first game together. Brondello told reporters postgame that a lack of discipline and movement has hindered them on that end in these last two. They’ve got four days to look at the film and figure out if she’s right before a meeting with Diana Taurasi, Kahleah Copper and the Phoenix Mercury.