NY Liberty vs. Chicago Sky preview: Liberty and Sky begin a home and home series

Don’t you love some good hand-to-hand combat? For the folks in Uncasville, Connecticut, that’s what they were treated to yesterday morning. In a camp day matinee, the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun engaged in a 40 minute rock fight. Fortunately for New York, they just enough to survive and escape CT win a win. At 18-4, the Liberty are back on top of the WNBA standings.

The opponent tonight has exceeded all expectations this year. I think most everyone thought the Chicago Sky would be near the bottom of the standings. However, they’ve surprised everyone outside of the organization with their great play and they have a chance to make the playoffs. They helped the cause by getting a camp day win against the Atlanta Dream yesterday afternoon.

Where to follow the game

Fox 5 on TV. Fox Local, Liberty Live, and YES App on streaming. A more reasonable start time of 7 PM today.

Injuries

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was a late scratch with a right knee injury. She's out tonight. Nyara Sabally is available to play after being out with a back injury.

Elizabeth Williams is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The game

Chicago won game one while New York won game two. This is the start of a home-and-home series that will wrap up the season series.

Both teams are on the second half of a back-to-back, so we’ll see how the minutes are allotted tonight.

Everything is brand new for the Sky, and they have the person for them leading the operation. Teresa Weatherspoon has kept the team’s spirits high in her maiden voyage as a head coach, and she’s charting a new path for her young club:

“Success is how we’re trying to build. It’s how we’re growing every day, the work we’re putting in every day with excitement and fun, with love for one another.”

Someone who’s benefitted from Spoon’s approach and care is Chennedy Carter. It wasn’t that long ago when there were legitimate questions as to whether Carter would ever find her way back into the league. She’s found her footing in Chicago and can be her full self

When you have someone who believes in you, it can empower you to do special things.

Carter still isn’t much of a three point shooter, but who cares when you have a lightning quick first step, finish incredibly well at the rim, and are pretty solid in the midrange game? It feels as if Carter has put everything together and she can be considered a key building block of the Sky going forward.

For Carter, she’ll do battle with Sabrina Ionescu this evening. Sab had another excellent game as her 21/5/5 and game saving (?!?!?!?!) block powered the Liberty attack. Ionescu’s strength was on full display as she was able to find her way to the basket time and time again even when excellent defenders like Dijonai Carrington were playing her close to the vest. Ionescu getting stronger and getting downhill more frequently has made her a much better player and someone defenses will have even more trouble dealing with.

The scoring hasn’t been there for Jonquel Jones in recent games, but JJ has continued to work hard and be a presence on the court. JJ had a casual 8/11/3/1/1 line yesterday and helped hold Alyssa Thomas to only one field goal on the day. Kamilla Cardoso has adjusted well to the pro game after being out for a while due to a shoulder injury, and it’ll be exciting to see how she matches up against one of the league’s best players.

Assuming Laney-Hamilton is out again, we’ll see who Sandy Brondello starts at the forward position. She went with Leonie Fiebich yesterday, and Leo paid it off with a season high five assists. Fiebich, Kayla Thornton, and Kennedy Burke handled forward duties in Bee’s absence, and their combination of activity and physicality kept the Liberty in great shape. The team has preached a stay ready mentality, and everyone who suits up is ready and able to contribute to winning.

Player to watch: Angel Reese

You never know you’re in a historic moment until you look up and see history happening in front of your very eyes. It’s been over a month since Angel Reese last secured a double-double. Since June 1, Reese has led the WNBA in rebounding at 13.4 boards a game. That’s not the big story as she notched a record 14th straight double double yesterday afternoon. We’ve started to see Angel add a bit more to her game as she’s knocked down the occasional corner three pointer and is shooting a solid 79.7 percent from the free throw line during the streak. One problem she had early on was that she would rush her shot attempts when she was in the restricted area. It’s still a bit of a bug-a-boo, but she’s been trying to slow things down somewhat and not rush those attempts. She’s getting better the more reps she gets, and for a Sky franchise that is trying to level up, having Reese lead the charge will go a long way in achieving that goal.

Even if Breanna Stewart’s shot isn’t there, you know the defense will be

Stewart rocked out as usual, and her 18/14/2/1/3 made life hell on the Sun. For Stewart, trading in some threes for shots closer to the rim, and when she does that, she’s getting to the free throw line a bunch as well. That balance creates more room for the Liberty to work with and ensures that they’re getting the best shots possible on every possession. She and the Liberty will have to do a lot of work on the glass against the Sky, but they’ll be up for it. When the Liberty control the glass, they control the flow of the game and can get out in transition more frequently. Stewart was key to the Liberty getting off to a better start yesterday, and we’ll see if the group is able to start strong once again.

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