Liberty Weekly: Fireworks Continue at Barclays Center
The New York Liberty tipped off an eight-game homestand at Barclays Center this week, and Liberty on SI has all the details for the road ahead.
Where the Liberty Stand
Team | Wins | Losses | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Minnesota | 16 | 2 | |
2. LIBERTY | 12 | 5 | 3.5 |
3. Phoenix | 12 | 6 | 4 |
4. Atlanta | 11 | 7 | 5 |
5. Seattle | 11 | 7 | 5 |
6. Golden State | 9 | 8 | 6.5 |
With the schedule showing at least some mercy — the Liberty get back-to-back weeks with two games on the docket after a speedy four-game-in-eight-day road trip that saw them drop three — the Liberty got back on track well enough to leapfrog Phoenix for the runner-up spot.
The Mercury's upset loss to Dallas gave a unique opportunity to seafoam boss Sandy Brondello: by virtue of the Liberty placing second on the leaderboard at the Independence Day landmark, she earned the right to coach one of the two "fantasy" teams set to assemble at the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game later this month. Brondello will lead the team curated by former Finals foe Napheesa Collier, whose own coach, Minnesota Lynx boss Cheryl Reeve, will guide the opponent put up by Caitlin Clark.
If the season ended today, the Liberty would face the seventh-ranked Indiana Fever, who are fresh off a win in the Commissioner's Cup final earlier this week.
Last Week: 1-1
The Liberty started to regroup and get healthy after some time on the road.
Following the trip where they dropped three of four (and went 2-5 when Leonie Fiebich was repping Germany in the EuroBasket Women competition), New York recovered well enough to earn a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in their long-awaited return to Barclays Center on Thursday night. Fiebich returned to hit a clutch three-pointer that proved to be the sealer of an 89-79 triumph.
The trip ended with a somewhat-respectable 90-91 defeat to the Atlanta Dream, one that saw the still-shorthanded Liberty win the second half against a surging group that made sure not to lose its lasting double-figure lead this time around.
Player of the Week: Natasha Cloud
(21.5 points, 62.6 field goal percentage, 55.6 three-point percentage, 6.5 assists)
Back-to-back double-decade games from Cloud was a welcome return to shooting for the veteran, who may be closing in on her first All-Star berth.
After some gloom in June following a scorching start (just over 31 percent from the field after the first nine games of the month), Cloud has posted the first instance on consecutive 20-point games on her career ledger, which included an 11-point showing in a fateful third quarter in Thursday's comeback against the Sparks.
Cloudy days on the scoresheet work in the Liberty's favor: New York is 5-1 when Cloud sinks at least 47 percent of her tries from the field and 8-3 when she hits at least one three.
Honorable Mentions
- Breanna Stewart: 19.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals
- Sabrina Ionescu: 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists
- Isabelle Harrison: 7.5 points, 63.6 field goal percentage, 5.0 rebounds, plus-19
They Said It
"You take any two missing starters away from any other team in this league, I want you all to play seven games, four of them being on the road and see what you all do. So there is no f***ing panic. We're missing about 35 points off our scoreboard, we're missing about 20 rebounds off the board. So we are fine. We we've been trying to make due. There's accountability that we can take in these losses, of like, our defense needs to be f***ing better. Our offense is still scoring at the at the point that we wanted to. We're still getting shots that we want, but it's that defensive end [that's hurting us]." - Natasha Cloud
This Week
Sunday: Seattle
(1 p.m. ET, CBS)
The Liberty face a familiar opponent that will hardly recognize them: Brooklyn and the Pacific Northwest did battle in the opener of the Liberty's lengthy road trip, one that the Storm took by an 89-79 final. Despite the defeat, Liberty reps have roundly praised the effort they put up while missing three starters (Fiebich, Ionescu, Jones), notably outrebounding Seattle by seven while Marine Johannes sank each of her first seven tries from the field. The Storm (11-7) has reached the midway point of a four-game road trip of its own, falling to Golden State before opening an Eastern trio with a narrow win over Atlanta on Thursday.
Tuesday: Las Vegas
(8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Liberty's lasting rival has made all the wrong headlines in the early going of a season that began with a New York victory at Barclays Center back on May 17. The Aces (8-9), who appear to be missing Tiffany Hayes, Tyler Marsh, Natalie Nakase, and Kelsey Plum more than anticipated seemed to be inching toward their usually dominance with wins in three of four before Thursday, which saw them drop an 81-54 decision to a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana group. Counting the Aces out, however, will forever be foolhardy as long as A'ja Wilson is around, as the three-time MVP has hardly lost a step despite the struggles: she scored more than half of the Sin City points in the aforementioned loss to the Fever and put up a 26-point, 18-rebound double-double in the prior game against Phoenix.
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.