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The New York Liberty are not a perfect basketball team, but they’ve done just about everything you could realistically ask of them in their first nine games.
Teams with just a couple superstars don’t do that. The Liberty have destroyed teams this year because, one through 12, they have been the better team on the court each night.
The Chicago Sky were the Liberty’s latest victim. The reigning WNBA champions went up 12-0 and cruised to an 85-66 win without an injured Jonquel Jones, last year’s Finals MVP.
Nyara Sabally, playing her first game back from injury herself, set the tone by scoring five of New York’s first seven points.
“It didn’t look like there was much rust,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “It was great to have her back out there. I think we can just build on that. She knows what she does and how she can help us.”
Sabally’s Liberty and Team Germany teammate Leonie Fiebich explained exactly how.
“She’s just so quick in her rolls and she draws a lot of attention in the zone,” Fiebich said before the game. “She can also shoot the ball from outside, you cannot leave her open. She’s so aggressive on the boards, I feel like she’s really a force for us.”
When Jones comes back, Sabally will return to her bench role alongside Kennedy Burke, who went 3-3 from three-point range on Tuesday, pushing her to over 60 percent from distance this season.
“I think with KB, what I've seen the most is the way she's really taken ownership of the role that she's in,” said Breanna Stewart, who also played with Burke on the Seattle Storm. “Whenever she's on the court, she's motivated to help the team but also very confident.”
While Burke is making history with her shooting (no WNBA player has ever shot better than 63 percent from three through nine games), Marine Johannès, an established three-point markswoman herself, has yet to really get going in her reserve role. Once she does, the Liberty will have a minimum of eight players who could reasonably be starting on most other teams.
If Brondello only deployed her starting five and those three, she would have the makings of an elite team. But Rebekah Gardner and Isabelle Harrison have both played major roles already through the Liberty’s 9-0 start. That bodes well for the upcoming weeks.
Eurobasket will further test Liberty’s depth
Even if everyone is healthy by the end of this week, the Liberty are about to lose two key players for multiple games. Sabally and starter Leonie Fiebich will represent Germany at this year’s Eurobasket tournament starting next week.
While we don't know which day the pair will leave and who the Liberty will bring in to fill out the roster in their absence, it’s safe to make a few assumptions: For one, Burke will likely slide back into the starting lineup to replace Fiebich. Second, Harrison will take on a bigger role as the primary front court option off the bench.
“The team does a good job of integrating people [into the lineup],” Sabally said. “It’s a couple games then you kind of pick back up right where you left off.”
Harrison earned Brondello’s confidence during Sabally’s six-game absence.
“We’ve missed [her] while she was away,” Brondello said of Sabally. “It allowed Izzy Harrison to get more minutes and we’re going to have to lean on that as well.”
With the Liberty blowing out most of their opponents this season, the entire roster has had a chance to play extended minutes as well, which can only help for the coming stretch.
The Liberty’s next game is Saturday in Indiana against the Fever. It’s unclear if Caitlin Clark will play in that game — or if the Liberty’s German duo will still be stateside.
UPDATE: Sabally has withdrawn from Eurobasket and will remain with the Liberty, she announced on Wednesday.
“After much consideration, I made the difficult decision not to participate in EuroBasket this summer,” she said in a statement. “I am disappointed to miss the tournament with my team and not to be able to to represent Germany this year as I had planned. It is not easy for me, but given the rehabilitation for my knee the intensive EuroBasket schedule and the tight WNBA calendar, I have to prioritize my health with a view to my long-term goals with the national team. I wish everyone who competes for Germany at EuroBasket much success! I know my teammates will be great — and I can’t wait to be back on the field with everyone.Thanks to everyone, especially to the entire team and to the DBB for the support and understanding.”
