New York was dealt a series of tough blows when Breanna Stewart, Nyara Sabally, and Kennedy Burke all went down with injuries that will keep them out for at least a few weeks. The news completely gutted the Liberty’s frontcourt depth.
The Liberty’s response has been to lean heavily on Sabrina Ionescu, asking her to be the team’s main source of offense game after game. That strategy hasn’t led to many wins and is not the key to the Liberty winning at the highest level.
The Liberty have been asking a lot of Sabrina Ionescu lately
Breanna Stewart went down with a bone bruise in her knee five games ago. Over the last five games, Ionescu averaged 27.4 points, 18.6 field goal attempts, 7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. She played a total of 173 minutes, 14 more than anyone else on the roster, and scored 137 total points. Jonquel Jones scored the second-most points with 79.
With Stewart out, Ionescu has been the Liberty’s main source of offense. She has to carry the brunt of the scoring load to even give the Liberty a chance to stay in most games. On top of that, she also has to assume point guard duties and run the offense when Natasha Cloud is on the bench.
While Ionescu is more than capable of playing at an MVP level, the Liberty will not win another championship by relying on her to do everything. Other players will have to step up. Fortunately, the Liberty just got a massive reinforcement. Emma Meesseman made her season debut against the Connecticut Sun. She played 17 minutes, producing 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Once she gets more comfortable with her new team, she should be able to have an even bigger impact.
The Liberty finally snapped a four-game losing streak
Before an 87-78 win over the Connecticut Sun, the Liberty had lost four consecutive games. First, they fell to the Sparks after a clutch shot by Rickea Jackson. Then, Dallas embarrassed the defending champions. The Liberty regained their footing against the Lynx, putting together a competitive game, but then fell apart again against the league-worst Sun.
Due to that losing streak, New York lost its advantage in the standings. The Atlanta Dream inched perilously close, and the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever also aren’t far behind anymore. There is only half a game between each seed from two through five.
If the Liberty can’t string together some wins, they may lose their top spot in the standings.