The post Fatal flaw Liberty must fix before WNBA playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello likes to tell her team to “control the controllables.” Unfortunately for her, a lot of the misfortune that has befallen New York during its first-ever title defense has been decidedly uncontrollable.
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Injuries have ravaged the Liberty in a way no one could have reasonably anticipated. The Liberty have played 40 games to date and only Marine Johannès has played in all of them. Rebekah Gardner (37), Natasha Cloud (37) and Sabrina Ionescu (36) are the only other players to appear in 90% of their games. Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Kennedy Burke have all missed extended periods.
Too often this year, New York has dressed the minimum eight players, so it should be no surprise that they are an underachieving 26-14.
But that’s not the entire story. Yes, if New York had stayed largely healthy, it would have a much better record. Losses to cellar-dwellers like the Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings and Chicago Sky probably would not have happened. Yet even if the Liberty had pristine luck with the uncontrollables, the controllables have provided their own worries.
Similar to last season, which ended in a WNBA championship, the Liberty are struggling to put together full 40-minute games and are subject to bouts of occasional carelessness on both ends. They were able to withstand that last year, in part because they were one of the best rebounding teams in the league.
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This year, their rebounding has been suboptimal at best and embarrassing at worst. Being unable to limit opponents to one shot per possession has resulted in too many second-chance opportunities and extended defensive possessions to wear down an already injury-depleted team.
In their 16-point road loss to the Atlanta Dream on August 23, the Dream had 17 offensive rebounds, resulting in 21 second-chance points. The Liberty managed four offensive rebounds, converting them into seven second-chance points.
It’s strange because, on paper, this shouldn’t be a problem — and with the playoffs approaching, they need to figure it out. Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart are both capable rebounders. Yes, New York playing more five-out on offense could explain a dip on the offensive glass, but too many possessions — on both ends — haven’t ended the Liberty’s way because of missed box-outs, lack of boxing out all-together, or seemingly being unaware of where everyone on the court is at a given moment.
This isn’t breaking news to anyone on the team. In too many postgame press conferences this year, Brondello and her players have stressed the need to improve on the glass. And while no one has hesitated to point out the injuries, Brondello acknowledged after the Dream loss that getting healthy doesn’t magically fix effort.
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“We’re on the struggle bus. We know that,” she said at the time. “We’re getting some really good players back, and we know it doesn’t mean things will just automatically change. We have to bring the appropriate effort and energy and trust and talk and everything and be connected.”
The Liberty know they need to be better — fast
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
There comes a point where players can’t hide behind the injury bug anymore. Stewart was honest about it after another disheartening loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday in which New York committed 16 turnovers.
“I think what was said is, like it’s not good enough,” Stewart said of the postgame locker room conversation. “It’s not going to cut it, any of the things we’ve done today.”
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“This is not championship-level basketball at this point and everybody needs to recognize that and understand that we need to get there and that starts with the mindset and then putting it onto the court,” she added.
One bright spot in that game was Emma Meesseman, who had 17 points on 7-9 shooting. The midseason acquisition has done everything one could reasonably expect over her 13 games so far. She’s averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 56% from the field.
In theory, Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, gives the Liberty an extra jolt of star power. The problem is that with players cycling in and out of the lineup, it has been hard for her to build chemistry with the full unit that the team hopes is on the court in the playoffs.
Their next chance to add another win to their resume will be Tuesday night at Golden State, and it comes with a little added hope. The injury report is only two players long, with Ionescu still questionable as she battles a toe injury. Nyara Sabally, who hasn’t played since before the All-Star break, has also been upgraded to questionable.
Related: Liberty’s path to clinching spot 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Related: Breanna Stewart gives Liberty harsh reality check after Mercury loss
