WNBA midseason check-in: New York Liberty
By Ben Dull
The New York Liberty have been tested and then some. The top seed in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference last season is floating around .500 heading into the break. Tina Charles has been their absolute rock. She has continued to polish up her outside game without moving too far away from all her strengths inside.
The Liberty lost starting PG Brittany Boyd early in the season to a torn Achilles. Teams do not just turn the page after losing a key contributor. Teams need time.
“I believe adversity builds character,” Charles said over All-Star weekend in Seattle. She continued, saying, “With us, that’s just our journey.”
Epiphanny Prince, who has since been the starter at that spot, missed time due to EuroBasket. Bria Hartley stepped up to play quality minutes at both guard spots. The catch: Think about what that does to their depth to be forced to make so many adjustments so suddenly.
Tina Charles’ success in stretching out her game has been a game changer. Charles can step out to open up the paint for high-low action or regular post ups for Kiah Stokes and Kia Vaughn. And just in playing more minutes at the four, extra opportunities exist for Stokes and Vaughn to put their talents on display:
But there has been turbulence in the front court, too. Coach Bill Laimbeer has expressed frustration with Stokes and her performance this season. Already without Boyd, the Liberty may struggle to position themselves for a deep run without figuring some things out with Stokes.
Vaughn and Bria Hartley have started the last three for New York. Charles was optimistic speaking on that group, saying, “We’ve been figuring it out, we’ve been putting different individuals in the lineup but right now these past few games I just like where we’re at.”
More from Charles in dealing with adversity and working through lineup changes: “We’re just trying to build better habits so we can build off of that, and I think we’re rolling, there’s better continuity, and we’re just looking forward to keeping it going.”
From the outside, we just don’t know it all. New York is going through the wringer this season. A healthy Charles probably still is plenty to lead them into the playoffs, but this team is thinking big now. Tina Charles is at the prime of her career now.
Shavonte Zellous has been a true bright spot in New York. She’s canning shots in a variety of ways. Zellous is also key on the other side of the ball. Among their top rotation players, she has the best chance to match up with big wing players.
Sugar Rodgers is an All-Star. New York is a noisy media environment, so that’s one notable narrative worthy of a larger spotlight. She’ll hit the tough ones off screens from a dead sprint and build off that shot to get into the lane when defenders close out too hard. You may also know Rodgers to hit a few threes here and there:
As mentioned, depth is a bit of a concern for New York knowing what they’ve already lost. That is also a topic of concern up front considering the roller coaster season Stokes is having. Rebecca Allen isn’t seeing quite as many minutes as she did to close the 2016 regular season. She would be a natural shoe-in if New York wanted to get more shooting on the floor.
Amanda Zahui B and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe have been in and out of the regular rotation. Both show some promise as young frontcourt players. Patience and opportunity for minutes ought to remain the largest talking points around both of them. Lindsay Allen is another young player in New York worth keeping an eye on. The second round pick out of Notre Dame has been thrust into the rotation early and often.
By no means are Laimbeer and the Liberty out of options. There is a degree of mystery with those names just listed. Could one of those players really pop and lift up the entire team if given more floor time?
“It definitely helps build confidence into different players. Bill and the coaching staff, they trust different players to step in and see if we can just throw them in the fire to see how they respond,” Charles stated when asked whether it would be a strength come playoff time having experimented with so many lineups.
Charles wrapped up, saying, “I think everybody has responded accordingly, I think we’ve been able to handle adversity. The lineup that we have now, I think everybody believes in it, everybody’s pretty assured in their role and what they mean for our team for its success, so we’re just gonna keep going with that.”
The Liberty have plenty of work to do. But what do you make of their current situation?