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Takeaways: New York Liberty fall to Phoenix Mercury

By Howard Megdal

WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 26: Leilani Mitchell #5 of the Phoenix Mercury handles the ball against the New York Liberty on June 26, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 26: Leilani Mitchell #5 of the Phoenix Mercury handles the ball against the New York Liberty on June 26, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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WHITE PLAINS, NY – JUNE 26: Shavonte Zellous (1) of the New York Liberty looks on during the game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 26, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WHITE PLAINS, NY – JUNE 26: Shavonte Zellous (1) of the New York Liberty looks on during the game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 26, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Where is the Liberty offense?

The Liberty of the Tina Charles era have always been an intermittent offensive team. Charles can do anything, and usually does, but the supporting cast doesn’t always produce when teams overcommit against her.

That happened again on Tuesday night. After some early looks from Charles, and some inspired entry passes from Bria Hartley—the faster delivery gives Charles precious extra time to do, well, whatever she wants—the Mercury sent waves of defenders at Charles and essentially dared the Liberty to beat them another way.

And as has been the case all season, there’s no real answer to the question: who is New York’s second option?

“Anybody can have that role at the moment,” Smith said when asked who she sees as Charles’ primary scoring complement. “Nobody’s jumped up and taken that… we look forward to anybody coming in and putting up some points.”

Kia Nurse has been at times, but Katie Smith hasn’t played her as much of late. Sugar Rodgers and Epiphanny Prince have both filled that role in the past, but not this season. Essentially the second-best scorer on this team is Amanda Zahui B., who does many of the things that Charles does, often when Charles isn’t in the game. So that’s not a real crunch-time lineup answer (though I’d expect to see more of her in games to come).

“I don’t know, necessarily, who it is,” Smith said. “But we need more.”

The defensive identity for Liberty is lacking

What’s new this season, and most concerning, is the team’s defensive execution. This isn’t on Smith—she ran the defense, after all, when Bill Laimbeer’s Liberty finished regularly in the top three of the league in defensive efficiency.

The Liberty entered Tuesday night eighth in the league defensive efficiency, and the dazzling array of open shots Phoenix found all night reinforced the mounting evidence that this is just not the level of defensive team necessary to make the playoffs at the moment.

And that has ramifications, because exactly who the Liberty can pass among the top eight teams, not to mention the ninth-place Aces, is unclear. The Liberty have maintained their core, there’s plenty of talent on hand, and no one should underestimate Katie Smith’s ability to adjust on the fly.

But after another home loss, it is fair to wonder whether the Liberty have stood still, and too many other teams have passed them by.

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