September 28, 2024
Entering playoff rematch with Las Vegas, New York Liberty aren’t the same team as in 2023
Jonquel Jones: ‘We’re coming out to prove them wrong and prove ourselves right’
NEW YORK — New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu shouted, “We need to get stops!” Wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton practiced her ball pressure intended for Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray.
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Wing Kayla Thornton broke through a screen that a practice player set and got annoyed. She shoved a bit, and her physicality and toughness were met with encouragement. “Yeah, KT!” assistant coach Olaf Lange shouted. He then walked over to Thornton and tapped her on the back.
The Liberty practiced ways they could run offensive actions for their three leading scorers in Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart. Head coach Sandy Brondello drew something up on her dry-erase board, and the players executed it to the best of their ability.
Then Lange and Brondello led the group through their methodology to guard what the Aces do most on offense. Nyara Sabally assumed the role of A’ja Wilson, Ivana Dojkić played Kelsey Plum, Thornton portrayed Jackie Young, and Jaylyn Sherrod stood in as Gray.
“If shit happens like this, you switch it,” Lange shouted.
“What’s A’ja trying to do, get to the paint?” Brondello asked rhetorically.
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These were just some of the sights and sounds inside Liberty practice in the days leading up to the highly anticipated rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals in this year’s semifinals. Players on both sides have described the upcoming series as a “dogfight,” or a bunch of games that will be highly competitive, physical and mentally draining.
“I think [there’s] excitement [at] also getting another shot at them and this run this year, in this campaign,” Lange told The Next. “Then also sort of [a] realistic approach and understanding how difficult it’s going to be and how much of a demanding series it’s going to be on everyone. So while everyone is excited, they also know it’s going to be very, very tough, very physical, very exhausting, both mentally and physically.”
That excitement radiated off of Stewart as she answered many questions from reporters. She was asked about how Aces guard Sydney Colson made the internet aware of what both Stewart and Wilson were posting to Instagram Notes.
“Numbers paint a clear picture,” Wilson wrote, using emojis in place of the words “numbers,” “paint” and “picture.”
“Only number that matters is one,” Stewart replied, with emojis in place of “number” and “one.”
When Stewart was asked about her post, she explained that it was a method for her to get the fans engaged again in what is arguably the WNBA’s premier rivalry. “We were just messing around with Instagram Notes a little bit,” she said with a smile and a smirk. “It’s a secret. Ask A’ja. See what she says.”
The Liberty were the No. 1 team all season long, but can they also be the No. 1 team in the playoffs? That’s a central question that will depend on whether they can beat the team that stopped their championship dreams last season.
“This is not the team from last year,” Jones told reporters. “We still remember what happened, what they did on our home court, and we’re coming out to prove them wrong and prove ourselves right.”
So why aren’t the Liberty the same team now, and what do they need to do to prove that?
Stewart and Ionescu look to bounce back
In last year’s WNBA Finals, Stewart did not play at the MVP level that she has been known to bring to games of consequence. That was for a host of reasons, including fatigue and the pressure of carrying the weight of New York on her shoulders. Stewart averaged 16.3 points on 36.2% shooting from the field, 12.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers per game against the Aces in that series.
Ionescu, who later admitted that she’d played injured in that series, looked lost and lacked aggression. She averaged 9.8 points on 31.6% shooting (including 34.6% from 3-point range), 5.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. Like Stewart, it was not her best.
When Stewart approached the 2024 season after the devastating Finals loss, she worked hard on how she could make her game less predictable and more modern. Going into the rematch against Las Vegas, she feels a lot different than she did a year ago, with a lot less stress.
“I feel amazing,” she said. “I feel even better than I felt last season, just from a stamina and a fatigue perspective. … [My wife] Marta [Xargay]’s not pregnant. I don’t need to be worrying about [a] ‘nine months pregnant’ type of situation. And having my people by me. I have my family at home, and everybody knows what our goal is and how locked in I am, and now it’s just about doing.”
Ionescu’s offseason was very much about doing. Not only has she improved her scoring by working toward a quicker first step and better inside finishing, but her defensive intention and abilities have developed, too. The Liberty will have her primarily guarding Young, one of her teammates at the 2024 Olympics.
Brondello chalks up Ionescu’s defensive improvements to her being willing to defend at a higher level. Ionescu’s basketball instincts on the offensive side of the ball can be applied to how she approaches her defense. She came from a college program at Oregon that primarily played zone defense rather than man-to-man. Defending at the pro level has been a learning curve for Ionescu, but Brondello has appreciated her commitment to it this season.
“We know she’s not going to be [Laney-Hamilton, who is an elite defender],” Brondello said. “But you play, understand the scout, know what you need to do, [know] where you can be physical, and use [your] IQ, which is off the charts, to your advantage.”
All eyes are on both Liberty superstars to prove that they’ve grown from 2023 and are healthy during this playoff run.
Defensive intensity will be key for New York
Defensive improvement wasn’t an objective just for Ionescu, but also for the Liberty collectively. The Liberty allowed 95.3 points per 100 possessions in the 2024 regular season, an improvement from 99.4 in 2023.
That improvement was partly a function of new personnel in forward Leonie Fiebich and wing Kennedy Burke being more defensively apt. But it was also due to the Liberty’s growing chemistry and trust. That trust has enabled New York to play with much more intention on the defensive end.
“I think that we’ve just been much more aggressive,” Laney-Hamilton told reporters at practice this week. “… We’re not on our back foot. “We’re trying to dictate more than we’re just being responsive to whatever they’re doing.”
In three games against the Aces in 2024, the Liberty allowed 92.8 points per 100 possessions, below their season average. But both Laney-Hamilton and Stewart agree that what the Liberty accomplished in the regular season won’t be enough.
The Aces haven’t lost a game since Sept. 8, and Gray has averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 assists in the Aces’ two postseason games. Those are way above her regular-season averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists, which reflect her long journey back from breaking her foot in the 2023 Finals.
Stewart said that the Liberty have been focused much more on watching Vegas’ first-round playoff series against the Seattle Storm than on reviewing their own game film against the Aces from the regular season.
“For the most part, we look at the last few games that they’ve had,” Laney-Hamilton said.
While the Liberty aren’t looking at the regular season as an indicator of how this semifinal series will go, they will still aim to replicate their work on the boards. During the regular season, the Liberty outrebounded the Aces, averaging 40.7 rebounds in their matchups to 29.3 for the Aces.
“So many things will come down to missed shots at both ends,” Lange said. “And can you either get the defensive rebound or the offensive rebound to get yourself an extra possession? So rebounding is a big deal.”
Related content:
- They meet again: What the Las Vegas Aces need to do to beat the New York Liberty
- Locked on Women’s Basketball: Aces vs. Liberty rematch
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How the Liberty responded to criticism of their chemistry
During the Liberty’s exit interviews after the 2023 Finals, the Liberty had a bone to pick with Plum. Jones was visibly annoyed by her comments that the Liberty weren’t a team that cared “about each other.”
But after some reflection, Jones, Stewart and veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot all realized that the Liberty had some work to do on building chemistry, understanding how their teammates tick and knowing what each person needs to be successful. Vandersloot explained at a practice during the regular season that she learned that Ionescu needs to have a mix of “a pat on the back” and “some fire” from her teammates to play at her best.
“Honestly, throughout the entire [2023] postseason, it was like the moments and the feelings, the runs, the highs and the lows, and moments where we could have stayed connected a little bit more,” Stewart said. “And we had an entire year to work on that, to focus on it.”
One place the Liberty have worked on their chemistry is on charter flights, which were implemented for most of the 2024 regular season. On their jet, the players have had more time to chat with one another and bond. They’ve even played the board game Trouble while in the air.
Also, the team went out to karaoke in Los Angeles to celebrate Stewart’s birthday after a tough loss. Would the 2023 Liberty have been able to do the same? That remains to be seen.
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In addition to spending more time together, losing in the WNBA Finals hasn’t been forgotten. The feelings and memories haven’t gone away. These were moments that couldn’t be simulated; they had to be lived through. In 2024, the Liberty are ready to right the ship — together this time.
“We were so close,” Vandersloot said. “No one really thought that we could do what we did last year. We were so close and it hurt. I think that bonded us.”
Written by Jackie Powell
Jackie Powell covers the New York Liberty and runs social media and engagement strategy for The Next. She also has covered women's basketball for Bleacher Report and her work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Harper's Bazaar and SLAM. She also self identifies as a Lady Gaga stan, is a connoisseur of pop music and is a mental health advocate.
