Liberty vs. Mercury: How & Who to Watch as New York Returns Home
There's no place like Brooklyn, the New York Liberty hope.
New York is back home after an eventful three-game road trip, set to play two of their final three games before the WNBA All-Star break at Barclays Center. The first lands on Wednesday night when the downtrodden Phoenix Mercury visit the city for the second time this season.
The Liberty went 2-1 on their road trip, sandwiching a loss to the league-leading Las Vegas Aces with wins in Connecticut and Seattle. New York will have three representatives at the All-Star Game in Vegas, as last week revealed that Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot will be part of the reserve contingent alongside starter and team captain Breanna Stewart, who led the Liberty in scoring in each leg of the road trip.
New York previously topped Phoenix 89-71 at Barclays Center on June 18, though the Mercury will look a bit different this time around: for one thing, Brittney Griner is expected to partake in Wednesday's game after missing the original visit due to an injury. This will also be the first time Phoenix faces the Liberty under the guidance of Nikki Blue, the interim head coach in place of ousted second-year boss Vanessa Nygaard.
One more meeting between the Liberty and Mercury is scheduled this season, as the two sides will do battle on Aug. 18 in Phoenix.
What: Phoenix Mercury (3-12) @ New York Liberty (11-4)
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
When/Watch: Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, YES/Twitter
Who's Favored: NYL -12.5
Keep An Eye On: Breanna Stewart
Phoenix's first visit took on the sweetest kind of emotional tone, as it marked Brittney Griner's return to New York since her incarceration ordeal in Russia. It was a particularly joyful occasion for Stewart, who was one of the most vocal voices in voices in calling for Griner's return home.
“If you look at last season, there was something and someone missing in the WNBA, and that was obviously Brittney Griner,” Stewart said after the first game in June. “The ability to have her back kind of makes our circle complete because she is such a force and a presence both on and off the court in her ability to kind of be so dominant and aggressive, but also such a kind, caring person. Everybody’s missed that. We’re all better when BG’s here with us.”
Griner is expected to partake in Wednesday's game and she hasn't lost a step upon her return to action. At 19.8 points a game, she's the Mercury's leading scorer and is shooting a career-best 61 percent from the field. Stewart will likely draw Griner duty on the floor on Wednesday and will be relied upon to neutralize one of the Mercury's best team-wide strengths: paced by Griner and Brianna Turner, Phoenix allows a league-low 24.5 defensive boards a game, partly keeping pace thanks to a success rate from the field that places third (44.9 percent).
Arizonan to Watch: Michaela Onyenwere
The Liberty have gone through so many homecoming nights (i.e. Jonquel Jones last Tuesday in Connecticut, Stewart in Seattle on Sunday) that it's easy to forget that they're welcoming their own share of departed heroines to Barclays Center.
Being dealt to the Mercury, a team trying to build up to something worth talking about so Taurasi can help make one more title run, was perhaps one of the best things for Onyenwere, the 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Packed with potential as Onyenwere was, she undoubtedly would've sat behind Stewart if she stuck around in New York. Traded to Phoenix in a deal that netted the Liberty Phoenix's first-round choice in the 2025 draft, Onyenwere has been a staple in the starting five and is setting career bests in all major categories.
"I'm happy for her," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said after Onyenwere's original return to New York "It's hard when you face a team that's drafted you. I told her that this was a chance for her to get more minutes...she's been aggressive and shooting the three ... she has a really big role."
They Said It
"We showed resiliency. I think that's important ... From a tough one in Connecticut. all the way over to Vegas and to Seattle, that's long travel, it's fatiguing. Five games in 11 days is pretty tough. But we keep getting better."-Sandy Brondello on what she and her team learned and displayed on the three-game road trip
Prediction
Everyone affiliated with the Liberty, still not fully satisfied with their play in the wake of an improved, chemistry-developing roster, would probably claim that they're not in a position to claim contests are "trap games," but Wednesday's showdown is undeniably one that would have Admiral Ackbar signaling a call to action.
Of course, New York knows that the modern WNBA has precisely zero certainties in a dozen-team league. Under Blue's watch, Phoenix snapped a six-game losing streak by rolling over the Indiana Fever on Thursday night. Having Griner (and Diana Taurasi) back will only raise the confidence as they try to salvage an increasingly wayward season.
The Liberty, however, have the clear advantage in talent to get by in a game like this. They won't use that as an excuse to coast, but that undeniable factor should help them get back into the swing of things after a lengthy turn on the road.
Liberty 94, Mercury 81
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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