2017 WNBA Preview: New York Liberty look to change the pace and the story

Entering the 2017 season, the New York Liberty faced a crossroads born of both their own limitations and the evolution of the league.

Both 2015 and 2016 ended with the Liberty atop the Eastern Conference. A historially great defense led New York to a 23-11 mark in 2015, and 21-13 in 2016 proved it was no fluke.

And yet: in both cases, the Liberty finished short of even reaching the WNBA Finals, let alone capturing that elusive title that remains the aspiration for the original WNBA franchise.

The overriding cause of their own limits is clear: it’s the offensive end. In both 2015 and 2016, the Liberty ranked tenth in the league in offensive efficiency, despite the presence of perennial MVP candidate Tina Charles.

So exactly how do the Liberty fix this without compromising what lifted them to the league’s contending teams? Well, there are some answers on hand, and the team is dedicated to making some changes to how they play as well.

First and foremost, Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer cited a desire to run more, a counter-intuitive decision at first glance, and one at odds with how he saw his roster back in 2015.

“Tanisha [Wright] ran the show for us last year, very smart veteran,” Laimbeer told The Summitt last week. “We were more of a setup team, more of a targeted team. Now we have three guards who can push the ball.”

One of those three is Brittany Boyd, the third-year point guard out of California. The extent to which the Liberty excel when Boyd is healthy and succeeding should not be underestimated. Many, including some within the Liberty front office, believed that if Boyd hadn’t been lost to a wrist injury late in the 2015 season, New York may well have won the championship.

Her rookie season defensive rating of 89.8 ranked second in the WNBA. Her assist percentage rated top ten in the league in both her seasons. And her ability to push the pace meant that the Liberty, who were tenth in halfcourt points per possession in 2015, ranked third in transition points per possession.

But a combination of struggles to come back from the wrist injury and Wright’s veteran guidance led Laimbeer to play Boyd less in 2016. With Boyd seemingly healthy and Wright taking the year off, the calculus has changed, and Boyd is a critical part of any strides the Liberty will take this season.

She’ll be joined in the backcourt by Epiphanny Prince, whose health and presence in 2017 represent something above and beyond each of the past two years. In 2015, Prince missed the first ten games while playing for the Russian national team. And a knee injury cost her most of the 2016 season.

But once she returned in 2015, Prince’s 24.1 player efficiency rating led the team, ahead of even Charles. And new acquisition Bria Hartley will be around to spot both of them, while Sugar Rodgers, who did a remarkable Prince impersonation last year, provides more scoring in the backcourt as well, along with second round pick Lindsay Allen.

Another key place for the Liberty to upgrade their offense comes at the small forward spot, where Rebecca Allen is a good bet to start and build on her 2016 season. Those around the Liberty have been talking up the Australian product since 2015, and she provided a taste of why in 2016 over 21 games, including six starts. Allen shot 56.7 percent from three, averaging nearly four attempts per game. Her defense needs to improve, a point of emphasis for her, but she has the quickness and athleticism to be a plus on that end of the floor as well.

Perimeter efficiency from Allen to complement Rodgers, Prince, and even Charles, who added threes to her game last year, will make a Liberty team that finished third in the league in three-point percentage last year even deadlier from deep.

The Liberty promise to be versatile in the frontcourt as well, and not just because of the presence of Charles. Kiah Stokes provides elite defense and rebounding—conversations with San Antonio about the top pick this year started and ended quickly once the Liberty made it clear Stokes was untouchable in such a deal—while Amanda Zahui B returns after a stellar European campaign. She’s a versatile scorer who ranked among the league’s best in block percentage last year (just below Stokes, in fact).

“I think it’s a good fit for her,” Liberty associate head coach Katie Smith told The Summitt. “And people forget, Zahui’s still real young, just 23.” Zahui B is essentially the lottery pick New York got out of the 2017 draft, having traded their pick to Dallas for Zahui B last year. It’s fair to wonder whether Zahui B would have been the top pick in this draft class, and best of all, New York’s already had a year to integrate her into their system.

Not that the Liberty lack for other frontcourt options, with the reliable traditional post Kia Vaughn and Canadian rookie Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe on hand to give New York bigger or smaller lineup responses to divergent situations.

Then again, for all this prologue, so much of New York’s 2017 will come down to Tina Charles. It’s frightening to consider that Charles led the league in points and rebounds last season, won the MVP in 2012, yet we may not have seen the best of her yet. Still just 28, Charles spent the offseason working on her left hand, consolidating the gains she’s made from three, and refining a game that is already unstoppable into one that maximizes her efficiency.

“Just driving to the basket more, being more aggressive,” Charles told The Summitt of her next evolution. “Just looking for the contact more. Three pointers are going to be available. But I know where I make my money, and that’s down low.”

Charles is, to put it simply, a four who can score like a three or a five, a defensive impossibility for all but the very select few in the league, one of the players who best illustrates where the frontier of the skill sets in the WNBA are going. She’s also the loudest voice in a locker room without Wright or the retired Swin Cash, who crossed over into executive territory.

Charles being Charles means the Liberty should be hosting at least one playoff game at Madison Square Garden for the third straight season. The evolution of the supporting cast could mean Charles gets the chance to celebrate a title in the very building she grew up watching her hometown Liberty.