On June 14th, 2025, the Liberty played the Indiana Fever. They scored 88 points, gave up 100+ and lost by 10+. On July 18th, 2026, the Liberty played the Indiana Fever. They scored 88 points, gave up 100+ and lost by 20+. Last Tuesday, the Liberty played the Indiana Fever. They scored 92 points, gave up 100+ and lost by 10+.
There's no echo, and I didn't accidentally type the same sentence three times..
The Liberty seem to have an Indiana-sized problem. Their losses to the Fever in the past 12 months have been conjured up all the same despite different rosters, roster make-up, and coaching regimes New York plays a season-defining game vs Indiana on Saturday. It's very possible these two could meet in the playoffs..
So, what's the fix?
Run Out The Building....... Literally
It's fitting that they play in the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, because no one plays the game of basketball quicker than the Fever. Their average pace per 40 (82.76) and overall pace (99.31) sits atop the league by some margin. Contrast that with New York, who is middle-middle both ways (80.42 and 96.51 both sit 8th in the W).
Before the game, Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco was asked about this blistering pace shown by the Fever, as well as his own teams pace of play. The answer was lengthy, but the beginning anecdote stands out: "We want to play our brand of basketball".
That message was seemingly lost in translation last Tuesday.
The Liberty played at a pace of 98.42, just under two points past their average. The 82 Pace/40 stands at a similar mark above the Liberty's usual. The alarming thing is, this was the slowest of their Fever meetings. The July 18th meeting was even faster (100.20/83.20), and as stated earlier, that was just as lopsided as this most recent matchup.
June 14th, 2025? The same story: 102 pace, 85 pace per 40 and a blowout loss.
Now, it's not like New York can't win fast-paced games. The Liberty won a game against the Fever in June where the pace was 102 and 85 per 40. However, even in that game, Indiana led most of the way until the Liberty clamped down and slowed the game in the 4th.
In there seems to lie the solution: slowing down pace of play, letting more half-court sets play out. For proof in the pudding, look at their three matchups against Las Vegas. The average pace of those games is 97 (for reference, the average pace in the Indiana meetings is 100.2), and the average pace per 40 is 80.3 (83.5 vs Indiana).
New York's record in those games is 2-1, with both wins coming by double digits. Their only loss was their highest-paced matchup of the year (100.80/84). Essentially, New York struggles a lot with pace. The more pace a game has, the more problems arise.
The KMP (The Kelsey Mitchell Paradox)
New York holds everyone else close to or well under their averages, but Kelsey Mitchell turns into the W's best scorer against them. So, what can New York do? Well, it's performances like Mitchell's that make New York miss two people; one hasn't played in a while, and the other was recently shown the door.
The former refers to Leonie Fiebich, who has been on the shelf since the beginning of July with a foot injury. Fiebich is a brilliant 6'4 wing defender who if available, would definitely help sort out the Paradox. The latter refers to the newest Mystic, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Laney-Hamilton was released in order to sign Marine Fauthoux to a long term deal, and for as much as she deserved that long-term deal, it's safe to at least question what Laney-Hamilton could've contributed to Tuesday's matchup.
In short, the solution is to get healthy. However, as has been the case for most of the season, that option is not currently on the table for the Liberty.
So, it's Coach DeMarco and the rest of his staff to scheme her out of the game, then for the players to execute it. Something clicked in the second half last Tuesday, as Mitchell scored only 8 points after getting 20 in the first quarter. Perhaps they turn to that plan often on Saturday. That's easier said than done, but if New York can slow the pace and Mitchell simultaneously, then they have a great chance of turning the tides in this series.
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