Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart were the stars of the show Tuesday night, but the Liberty's most vital player could be an undrafted rookie.
New York defeated the A'ja Wilson-less Las Vegas Aces to take home its second Commissioner's Cup. Chris DeMarco's side can move to a chase for the WNBA Championship, and one move the first-year Liberty head coach should keep moving forward is Pauline Astier's inclusion in the starting lineup.
The headlines, rightfully, were on Stewart and Ionescu combining for 51 points, but Astier chipped in as the team's third-leading scoring against the Aces with 15 points to go along with four assists and five rebounds.
The Commissioner's Cup was the third-straight game Astier started. It came as a result of Satou Sabally's recent injury, but DeMarco would be wise to keep her in the starting lineup when his roster is fully healthy.
Astier's skillset balances well with New York's stars
Ionescu seemed to get out of her shooting slump when she scored 26 points off 5-for-13 shooting from behind the arc Tuesday night. Part of that could be attributed to Astier being the primary ball-handler and allowing Ionescu to work off-ball, something that would not happen if DeMarco goes back to starting Sabally and Leonie Fiebich.
Astier, a veteran in the international game, understands her role on the Liberty: Set up the star players and take your shots whenever you get a chance.
"... It feels like she's not a rookie out there," Ionescu told reporters Tuesday, per Madisyn Cunningham of Winsidr and FanSided. "... We've all built really good chemistry with her. But her poise, the way she gets better every single game, handling the ball, playing off-ball, getting into paint, drive-kick. Defensively, she always has really tough assignments, as well."
That is the kind of player the Liberty need, as opposed to making Ionescu the de facto point guard, as DeMarco did when Ionescu and Sabally were healthy. It's not that Ionescu is a poor facilitator. It's just that the four-time All-Star can also be deadly as an off-ball threat to better help break down a defense.
Astier is a complete player, averaging 21.4 points, 8.4 assists and 6.5 rebounds per 100 possessions. The Astier-Ionescu backcourt also helps stagger the Liberty's other guards, specifically Marine Johannès, so there isn't that much of a worry about a dropoff defensively.
Astier is a willing defender
One knock on Astier's game is her defense, and teams indeed tend to target her in pick-and-roll coverage or in isolation opportunities.
However, advanced metrics, such as defensive win shares, show that Astier isn't much of a minu defender. New York's defensive structure is enough to help hide her defensive liabilities, but the 24-year-old does put in effort on the defensive end and has the basketball IQ to hold her own. The drawback would be teams targeting Ionescu, whom the Liberty shouldn't want in potential foul trouble.
What Astier brings on offense is enough to offset her defense and can be what elevates the team's ceiling. It's possibly what the front office envisioned when they decided not to re-sign Natasha Cloud.
Instead of worrying about how to guard another team's top stars, have them worry about how they are going to stop you on offense. It's putting a lot of trust in Stewart and Jonquel Jones, but it could prove to be a worthy one if the Liberty can reach their offensive ceiling at the right time.
That's why it's worth continuing to build the offensive chemistry with Astier starting, and it might be best to send Fiebich to the bench and keep Sabally in the starting lineup when she's healthy. In that starting lineup, Astier would be entrusted to set up her All-Star teammates and be the tertiary scoring threat to keep opposing teams on their toes.
It could be the key to unlocking the Liberty to help them achieve their championship aspirations.
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