The New York Liberty are on the brink of playoff elimination, and Chris DeMarco could be coaching for his job Friday night.
DeMarco's side fought a physical matchup against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena. Breanna Stewart and Marine Fauthoux each had historic nights, but a defensive miscue and a coaching blunder cost them Game 2.
Naz Hillmon scored what ended up being the game-winning lay-up when Stewart and Jones miscommunicated a rotation to leave her open. This was in overtime, and the All-Star duo played nearly the entire game, so it's understandable that a mental lapse would happen. Of course, it's never great when it happens during a crucial moment.
However, it's the Liberty's late-game execution that should be under scrutiny. After a timeout, the Liberty had 20.8 seconds to retake the lead. Sabrina Ionescu airmailed a pass to the stands instead of a wide-open Jones.
What was the play call? What were the instructions to Ionescu?
There weren't any clear answers to those questions, but after Angel Reese hit two free throws to extend the Dream's lead to three, New York didn't use its reset timeout, and Stewart was forced to take a 32-foot jumper that airballed.
Why didn't the Liberty use their reset timeout? There was a clear answer.
"This is not blaming the refs, but when I asked both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end, and they tell us, 'No,' and we leave the game with a reset timeout, it's pretty frustrating," Stewart told reporters at the postgame press conference.
There's no telling whether or not the Liberty would have tied the game if they had used their reset timeout. It was a huge oversight by the officials, but the blame should still be on DeMarco.
The head coach has to know the rules
It should be understood by everyone—coaches, players, fans and officials—that each team gets two team timeouts and a reset timeout in overtime. This is not hard to look up.
If what Stewart said is true, then that is not a great job by the officials, to say the least. However, this information also was relayed to the head coach, who should be adamant that their team does have a reset timeout. DeMarco should have been yelling at them that they were wrong. Someone on his coaching staff should have alerted him that they did have a reset timeout.
This kind of blunder should not happen on any WNBA coaching staff. Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase literally fainted during a game because of how overworked she was. It would be shocking if she didn't know that her team had a reset timeout, since they never used one in overtime.
This is DeMarco's first year as a WNBA head coach, and the 41-year-old has never had experience in the WNBA, but it's the playoffs. There should be no excuses, especially for a team that had championship expectations before the season and fired Sandy Brondello, who helped New York win a title in 2024.
DeMarco's coaching blunders make him come off as someone who is in way over his head, and if the Dream completes the sweep of the Liberty in Game 3, the front office and ownership should think long and hard about whether or not he's the right person for the job.
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