2022 NY Liberty Notebook, Volume 2: “Like, why did I shoot that?”
Reinforcements have arrived as New York has turned the page
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Man, a lot can change in two weeks.
The last time we left off, the Liberty had just snapped a seven-game losing streak, vanquishing the Indiana Fever on June 1. Crystal Dangerfield, 10 days into a hardship contract, was inserted into the starting lineup and immediately made an impact, closing the game as New York got back into the win column. It was a feel-good victory, but questions still remained on what the Liberty would do with the newfound momentum.
Well, since then, New York has won four of six games for a record of 5-2 in the month of June. No longer is this the team that had the second-worst net rating in league history before that win over Indiana. Now, this is a squad firmly in the playoff hunt as the season rolls on. Let’s take a look at some storylines that have popped up over the past few games.
Sabrina has flipped the switch
Shout out to Sabrina Ionescu, man. After having a storied career at Oregon and being drafted to the media capital of the world, she’s had to deal with nonstop pressure. Once you tack on the criticism that comes with the constant centering she’s had to deal with, you get a recipe that can lead to players reaching their breaking point. With Sabrina, though, she’s just rolled with the punches and continues to get better and better.
It’s been widely stated that the success of the Liberty this season boils down to Ionescu’s on-court performance, and with no Betnijah Laney to help her shoulder the load offensively, she’s had to do even more. Nevertheless, Ionescu has excelled, even being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the second time in her career.
In the month of June, Sabrina is currently averaging 22 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game and 6.9 assists per game on just under 50% shooting from the field and 37% from three-point land. Even if you consider Thursday’s game against the Mystics a “bad” outing where she shot 3-for-16 from the floor, Ionescu still flirted with a triple-double and finished the game with five stocks (steals + blocks). All in all, credit to Sabrina for hanging tough and responding as the season reached its bleakest point.
Some extra playmaking juice
Now, we’ve discussed how Sabrina has been on another level this month, but we haven’t explained how and why. Short answer: she’s been moved to the 2, where she’s been fantastic since playing with Minyon Moore at Oregon (shout out to Justin Carter of Nets Republic for his Liberty coverage and how he’s detailed this). Slightly longer answer: the addition of Crystal Dangerfield (and on Thursday, Marine Johannès for the first time in her career) to the starting lineup has taken the pressure off of Ionescu to be the only facilitator, allowing her to slash to the rim more and space the floor. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
In the month of May, New York was sadly abysmal. Second-worst net rating in league history, turnovers galore, and a sieve on defense; almost nothing went right. In the month of June, where Dangerfield has started every game, the Liberty have had the best net rating in the W, an astonishing 9.5 points per 100 possessions as their margin of victory. For reference, that would rank third in the league behind the Aces and Sun over the season. They’ve also had the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league, only behind Chicago in the month of June. The presence of Dangerfield has added new wrinkles and dimensions to the Liberty on both ends. Over the course of the season, their offensive rating skyrockets to 112.9 points per 100 possessions in 192 minutes when both Crystal and Ionescu share the court, compared to just 95.4 points per 100 possessions in 290 minutes when it was just Sabrina, courtesy of PBP Stats.
Against Washington on Thursday, Coach Brondello took it one step further, inserting Johannès into the starting lineup for Rebecca Allen, who missed the game with an illness. Johannès returned to the team on June 8 from her overseas commitments and since then, has just been a jolt of energy. No-look passes, behind-the-back dimes, slick handles: the Marine Johannès Experience can only be described as basketball nirvana or a defibrillator shock to the heart.
Johannès, Dangerfield and Ionescu combined for 19 assists and the Liberty had a season-low 10 turnovers as the three dazzled fans all night long. While it’s a small sample size, the Liberty have a net rating of 17.8 points per 100 possessions in the 42 minutes that the trio has shared the court, per PBP Stats. It’ll be interesting to monitor how these three play together as the season progresses, and how the Liberty look when they add two other talented playmakers in DiDi Richards and Betnijah Laney to the mix.
On the silver screen
Off the court, the stars of the Liberty were featured on the red carpet Monday at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of the documentary Unfinished Business. Detailing the trials and tribulations faced by the New York franchise and the rest of the league at the onset of its creation back in 1996, the film interweaves this footage with an in-depth look into the roller coaster that was last year, the 25th season for the Liberty. For a recap of the event, you can read this awesome summary from Myles Ehrlich of Nets Republic, but I urge you to watch the documentary as well, whenever it’s widely available.
Speaking of things you should watch, ESPN’s latest installment in their 30 for 30 series “Dream On” premiered on Wednesday, recounting the tumultuous path to the mountaintop for the 1996 United States Olympic women’s basketball team. From start to finish, I was captivated, hearing these stories of pioneers and how their sacrifices and hard work shaped the sport we love today. In my opinion, it’s one of the best documentaries ESPN has ever made and I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you to the trailblazers on that team, because without them, I probably wouldn’t be writing this right now!
It’s Han Xu’s world, and we’re just living in it
With this edition of the notebook coming to a close, I figured I would just provide a quick update on Han Xu and her performances over the past two weeks. Xu is now second in the league in player efficiency rating (Stewie, you are something else) and is now second in points per play, rising from sixth.
She’s added four more double-digit scoring games, setting career-highs against Minnesota and Indiana in consecutive outings. With Marine Johannès back in the fold, look for them to continue building that chemistry we saw in 2019. Also, the #HanXuForSixthPlayerOfTheYear campaign is well underway. Hop on the bandwagon while you still can!
The Liberty are set to take on the Seattle Storm on Juneteenth, in what could be Sue Bird’s last time playing in the Big Apple. Let’s see if New York can continue its winning ways.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Liberty are just so fun to watch right now. Here's hoping they can keep up the momentum through the summer and solidify a playoff spot!