Liberty vs. Sky Preview: How & Who to Watch, Odds, and More (8/11)

Having completely dismantled the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces in their last outing, one has to wonder what the New York Liberty can do for an encore.

The first reprise comes on Friday night when the Liberty welcome in Courtney Vandersloot's former employers, the Chicago Sky. Friday's game is a return to action for the Liberty, who will re-enter Barclays Center's hardwood after five days to bask in the verbal rewards a 99-61 win over Vegas offered them. Another accolade awaited the Liberty on a night off: with Atlanta and Minnesota's losses on Thursday, the Liberty officially joined the Aces on the WNBA playoff bracket. With one more win, the Liberty will also tie a single-season mark for most wins in franchise history.

New York, however, has little interest in extending the celebration, preferring to keep its eyes on a first-place prize and more (three games behind Las Vegas for the regular season title entering Friday). Sabrina Ionescu, for example, spoke of hitting "full potential," which she believes hasn't been achieved just yet.

"I think the statement we made is we're a team that plays hard, especially when we really lock in," Breanna Stewart added of Sunday's triumph. "We had a 50-40-100 (shooting) game, which is kind of crazy."

The Liberty faces a Chicago group that currently holds the eighth and final WNBA postseason spot. Having ousted the Liberty in last year's postseason, Chicago has been a thorn in New York's side over two prior meetings: the Liberty narrowly escaped from the Windy City with a 77-76 win on June 2 but the Sky immediately took revenge with an 86-82 comeback victory in Brooklyn two nights later.

Returning to the floor for the Liberty will be Stef Dolson, a depth piece off the bench who has not played since June 23's win over Atlanta due to an ankle injury.

What: Chicago Sky (12-16) @ New York Liberty (22-6)

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

When/Watch: Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Ion

Who's Favored: NYL -12.5

Keep An Eye On: Jonquel Jones

The return of Dolson should take some of the interior load off Jones, whose recent resurgence has been the most active ingredient in the Liberty's surge toward the top of the hypothetical power rankings. Jones, however, probably wouldn't mind sticking to the status quo, especially with the recent entries to the Liberty ledger.

With Dolson out and Han Xu fulfilling international duties, Jones has been, in head coach Sandy Brondello's words, a "monster": she's averaging a double-double at 14.6 points and 12.4 rebounds since the All-Star break and New York has allowed less than 70 points in three consecutive games. With Dolson likely on a minute restriction until she gets her legs back, Jones should be able to take advantage of a Sky group that ranks dead last in defensive rebounds at just over 24 a game.

Chicagoan to Watch: Kahleah Copper

The Sky has fallen after watching Vandersloot, Candace Parker, Allie Quigley, and more move on. Long-time head coach James Wade bailed midseason to join the Toronto Raptors' coaching staff. Yet, Chicago holds control of its own postseason destiny, currently 1.5 games up on ninth-place Phoenix and a game behind sixth-place Minnesota with two games in hand.

Chicagoans can thank Copper for keeping up with the brand of newly-established victorious normalcy. Thrust into the role under uncomfortable circumstances, Copper has embraced the idea of being an undisputed top option. Over the past seven games, the first of which ended a four-game losing streak, Copper has talled 25.4 a contest, which includes 37 against the mighty Aces on July 25.

Prediction

The plethora of Las Vegas rematches notwithstanding (and two more against the third-place Connecticut Sun), every regular season game from here on out is going to at least feel like the proverbial trap game, especially as they scrape toward the bottom of the WNBA postseason barrel. Five days off should also have the Sky thinking they can capitalize on a relatively rusty seafoam group.

But the Liberty have proven adept at not only handling business when they need to but they've also shown a lethally, if not delightfully, vindictive streak of taking things personally. Considering Chicago escaped with a victory the last time they were in Brooklyn, the Liberty won't take kindly to them escaping from New York with a sweep.

Liberty 91, Sky 81

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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