The New York Liberty had the most up-and-down season of any team this year and have managed to slide into the playoffs yet again. Several new additions to the roster, including some added midway through the season, were all key to New York reaching the playoffs for a second straight year. Stefanie Dolson would be their big free agent signing at the beginning of February.
A Disappointing May
The Liberty began the season going just 1-7 and the future was not looking all that bright. The team led the league in turnovers and were at the bottom in points per game (70.4). After winning their opener against Connecticut and New York, they would lose seven straight games. Moreover, early injuries to key players would also spell trouble for the Liberty. Betnijah Laney, DiDi Richards and Jocelyn Willoughby would all suffer different injuries this month. The early season troubles for New York were looking bleak.
A Very Positive June
The Liberty would begin the month of June with back-to-back wins against the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics. Additions to the roster would be Crystal Dangerfield on a series of hardship contracts and the return of Marine Johannès. Unfortunately, Johannès’ return was contingent on the trade of AD Durr to the Atlanta Dream to open up a roster position. Furthermore, a significant uptick in scoring to 82.6 ppg would see New York to a 74 record for the month. Adding Dangerfield as the team’s leading ball handler would see Sabrina Ionescu primarily at the shooting guard position.
Uniquely, allowing Ionescu to play more off-the-ball would be a primary reason for the team’s increased offensive output. Could the Liberty start to turn things around?
A Slippery July
After a strong month of June, the Liberty would see the month of July almost as bad as May was. Likewise, through ten games, New York would put together a record of only 3-7. Fortunately, their three wins would come against the Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky. An offensive rollercoaster for the month would see New York score a franchise-high 116 points in their win against the Aces. However, the Liberty would fail to score more than 80 points in four games this month. Most Improved Player candidate, Han Xu, would be a bright spot for New York, averaging 8.6 ppg, 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from behind the arc. In another roster move, Lorela Cubaj would be waived and Crystal Dangerfield would be signed to a rest-of-season contract on July 3.
Ionescu, Laney’s Return Keys Their Playoff Birth
Betnijah Laney would finally return to the court on Aug. 8 and remain with the team for their final four games of the season. Laney’s return would be critical in New York advancing to the playoffs. Additionally, having Laney back gave the Liberty another offensive weapon. Statistically, through four games, she would average 10.3 ppg on 46.4 percent shooting. Furthermore, Ionescu’s numbers would continue to improve during the run to the playoffs.
Sabrina would average 19.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 5.6 assists per game in their seven games in August. Finally, the Liberty would compile a record of 5-2 for the month and would clinch their spot in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
Another major milestone for Sab in the books! Sabrina Ionescu is the fastest Liberty draftee to reach the 1,000-career point mark in just 66 games, and at 24 years old, is the second-youngest player to do so in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/jBTtT5583m
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) August 9, 2022
Playoff Outlook
The Liberty finished with a record of 16-20 and will be the seventh overall seed in the playoffs. New York will face the Chicago Sky in a best-of-3 series beginning Wednesday, Aug. 17 (8:00 pm on ESPN2). Game 2 will be in Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 20, with a noon tipoff (ESPN). Game 3, if necessary, will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 23 with a to-be-announced time on ESPN2. The Liberty won only one game out of four in their regular season series against Chicago.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for 2022 WNBA content. Todd Roman is on Twitter too. Follow Todd @TBRBWAY.
