About a week ago, the New York Liberty secured a five-game win streak with an 89-76 win over the Phoenix Mercury. The Liberty were firmly established as the number-two seed with a small but comfortable difference between them and the Phoenix Mercury.
That difference has evaporated, and New York is at risk of losing its position in the standings. The Liberty are 5.5 games behind the league-best Minnesota Lynx, and only half a game ahead of the Atlanta Dream and one game ahead of the Phoenix Mercury.
New York’s losing streak has jeopardized its position as a top-two team
It’s been a tough stretch for the Liberty since their big win over the Mercury. Breanna Stewart, who suffered a bone bruise in her knee, Nyara Sabally, and Kennedy Burke are all expected to be out for several weeks. Emma Meesseman is officially with the team now and should be ready to play in one of the Liberty’s upcoming games, but they are still down a lot of depth.
On top of the injuries, the Liberty haven’t been able to get a win, even losing to the worst teams in the league. First, they lost a two-point game to the Los Angeles Sparks. Then, the Dallas Wings beat them by ten points. The Liberty looked more like themselves against the Minnesota Lynx, but still couldn’t get a win. A 78-62 loss to the 4-21 Connecticut Sun marked the low point of the Liberty’s losing streak.
Marina Mabrey, Leila Lacan, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa scorched the Liberty on offense. The Sun also played well defensively, holding the Liberty to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and 22.2 percent from three. The Liberty also turned the ball over 23 times. It’s time for the defending champions to get it together.
The playoff race is wide open
Due to the Liberty’s recent struggles, the playoff race is now wide open. While Minnesota has the top seed locked up, the rest of the playoff picture could change every day.
The Dream have won four of their last five games, including wins over Minnesota and Phoenix. That puts Karl Smesko’s squad in a great position to sneak past the Liberty. Phoenix has struggled recently, which creates a pathway for the Fever and Storm to climb in the standings.
The bottom of the playoff standings doesn’t look much better. The Valkyries and Aces both have a 14–13 record, and the Mystics are just one game behind them.