The Strickland 2024 Liberty roundtable
The WNBA returns tomorrow, and with it another exciting Liberty championship chase. Let’s look at some of the season’s biggest storylines
After the best season in franchise history, the New York Liberty return all their starters and a mostly brand-new bench. What’s one storyline you’ll be following as the year kicks off?
Miranda: Whether a change in their early-season approach might pay dividends later. Over her first few months in Brooklyn, Jonquel Jones was still recovering from a left foot injury. Her play really took off after the All-Star break, but before then her minutes and production were down from what we know she can do when healthy. Fortunately the Liberty are not exactly bereft of talent literally everywhere, so they still won a franchise-best 32 games, but a full season of Jones at full power could relieve some of the games 1-40 burden on Breanna Stewart, who looked worn down at times in the playoffs, particularly from 3-point range. More JJ early might mean more Stewie late. This is what’s possible when your frontcourt includes two of the last three MVPs.
Collin: I’m excited to see how Stewart responds to an underwhelming performance in her first-ever Finals loss: 16.3 points on a 36/17/70 split in the four games. Stewart has never lost like this before, nor performed as poorly simultaneously. It will either be an outward-facing revenge season or a cool and collected approach with hopes for a rematch. As a Liberty fan, I’ll take either.
What are your thoughts on New York’s top draft pick, Marquesha Davis? How does she fit into the Liberty rotation?
Miranda: What a stunning but surreptitious development. Literally – LITERALLY – every single mock draft this year had the Liberty landing Charisma Osborne out of UCLA. Nobody had them with Marquesha Davis, in part because every mock had Davis gone before New York’s turn. For all the best laid plans of mice and men and wombats and women, sometimes it just comes down to luck.
Davis brings youth, speed, perimeter defense and midrange magnificence to a team deadly from deep and down low but also old(er), slow(er) and in need of players who can keep quick guards in front of them. Everyone remembers the Aces’ guards breaking down the Liberty in the Finals, but in the prior rounds Natasha Cloud, Tiffany Hayes and DiJonai Carrington all gave them similar problems. Davis not only offers perimeter protection, she excels in transition. Hemorrhaging less while getting more easy baskets could be a real energy-saver for the Liberty, and that could pay off come September.
Also, pay attention to Jaylyn Sherrod, the undrafted rookie whose play this preseason is raising eyebrows and hopes. She can score, she can play defense and she, like Davis, brings much-welcome speed, ballhandling and ball pressure.
Collin: Here’s a quick, at-home litmus test for your Liberty fandom: With all of Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu on the roster, is playing time for Davis a top priority for you? If you answered yes, you’ve probably already purchased Ole Miss gear to wear at the first home game you attend. I haven’t gone that far, but watching Davis in the preseason has me excited for her in whatever capacity New York uses her. Her athleticism should add another down-to-the-hardwood dimension on a team with so much talent that they’re floating up and down the court at times. And her speed should help improve a Liberty offense that ranked fifth out of 12 teams in fast-break points last season. This team needed youth. Hopefully the rotations reflect the breath of fresh air that is Davis when the time comes.
What non-Liberty team or player has caught your eye this season?
Miranda: I’m interested in Connecticut and Washington, two proud franchises who’ve been among the East’s top teams the past half-decade.
The Sun have won a playoff series seven straight seasons, the longest such stretch since Minnesota and Seattle were owning the 2010s. This year Connecticut welcomes back Brionna Jones, who missed the last two-thirds of 2023 after rupturing her right Achilles, along with triple-double gawd Alyssa Thomas and the ageless wonder that is DaWanna Bonner. Even while transitioning from seven years of coach Curt Miller to Stephanie White’s debut, the Sun were on the Liberty’s heels for conference supremacy while White won Coach of the Year. With all eyes on an Aces/Liberty rematch, don’t sleep on the Sun.
After a decade with Mike Thibault at the helm, the Mystics adjusted to a new coach last year, though given that it was Mike’s son Eric it may have been less jarring than your typical coaching change. There’ve still been jarring upheavals: two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne is sitting out the season while figuring out her future, while iconic two-way point guard Natasha Cloud has taken her talents to the southwest and Phoenix. But while no one’s ever confused the DMV with Argentina, don’t cry for the Mystics.
They retain a plus backcourt with Brittany Sykes and Ariel Atkins. Shakira Austin, Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2022, missed most of last season with a torn hip labrum – if she’s healthy, she’ll form a formidable frontcourt pairing with talented rookie Aaliyah Edwards. The Mystics are nowhere near a title, but may be closer to rebounding than rebuilding.
Collin: No offense to my Strickland counterpart, but Caitlin Clark is the only correct answer. So far (and I base this off of preseason tape alone) she’s looked the part of a prodigy in terms of talent. But will she be able to flex those same muscles throughout an entire WNBA season? Will it reflect on the Indiana Fever’s record after finishing 13-27 in 2023? Clark is the most anticipated WNBA prospect since our own Ionescu, as far as I can remember. Correct me if I’m wrong, Professor. (Ed. note: Aliyah Boston may have an argument; it’s her or Sabrina)
Eight months removed from the Liberty’s Finals loss to Las Vegas, do you have any final thoughts on the series?
Miranda: Mostly just appreciation for what the Aces accomplished – winning the title in Game 4, at Barclays, without two of their starters and after months without arguable G.O.A.T. Candace Parker. Especially coming off an NBA postseason where every loss triggers a fresh batch of whining and scapegoating.
By contrast, Vegas – the defending champs, playing their third Finals in four years – trusted their reserves, fell behind big early, stormed back behind their depth and their defense and took care of business. A contender plays like a champion on their best day. A champion plays like one on their worst. Much respect, Aces – even shit-talking Kelsey Plum, a personal favorite even before learning she’s an honorary Puerto Rican princess.
Collin: As someone who was away from home for the entirety of the Finals, I’ve had to rewatch it in intermittent spurts since and I can’t get over how deflated at times Stewart looked. One series stat that stands out: New York took 6.5 more 3-point attempts per game than the Aces, but shot just 32% compared to the Aces’ 36%. That tracks, based on how the teams performed in the regular season, and the shots have got to start falling eventually, but after the first two games is that not just a lack of adjustment? All that said, I’m happy the initial run for this Liberty “Big 3” ended in the Finals, regardless. Because if that’s truly your foundation point, and I think it is, then greater things are on the way.
Sabrina Ionescu averaged 17 points and 5.4 assists in her first season as part of the Liberty’s “Big 3.” What’s next for her?
Miranda: Jones made the most striking sacrifices last year as far as touches and role, especially in the first few months. Stewie and Courtney Vandersloot made adjustments as well. That’s to be expected – those three players are all three to nine years older than Ionescu. But Sabs evolved last year as well, shooting less often overall, upping her 3-point attempts per 36 by about 15% while cutting her 2-point looks by 33%. Her assist rate fell by 26% while her turnover rate stayed mostly the same. The W’s jingoism prioritization rules rob us of another year of Miraculous Marine Johannès and her saintly shotmaking, but the Liberty added firepower to the bench with the additions of Leonie Fiebich and Ivana Dojkić, and Kennedy Burke is no slouch behind the arc. Could Ionescu return to a more creative role in year two of the Big 3? It’d give the Aces another counter to have to deal with should the teams again meet for all the marbles.
Collin: Ionescu was awesome to watch last year, adapting and evolving in real time. With an entire season and offseason under her belt working with Jones and Stewart, Ionescu is a rare and exciting enigma. New York is going to tweak some things; you can’t not after a Finals loss. But what that means for Ionescu is a big question mark. I will miss Johannès, who was indeed miraculous. But hopefully her absence opens the door for others, and for Ionescu to take a larger charge in an offense that was largely Stewart-centric in the regular season.
Is winning the WNBA Finals the only way the Liberty’s season can be considered a success?
Miranda: No, just the laziest.
Collin: Absolutely not. But color me skeptical that they won’t at least make it back for a title shot.
New York’s opens the regular season tomorrow in Washington – same as last year. If it starts the same and finishes a little differently, there could be a title winner in NYC.
