The Liberty have spent 44 games trying to figure themselves out — tinkering with lineups, installing a new offense and experimenting with defensive coverages under first-year head coach Chris DeMarco.
asserted
Liberty → spend → DeMarco
It was all meant to build toward the playoffs.
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It → mean → playoffs
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you → get → things
tRY IT NOWThat time has come.
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time → try → IT
The Liberty enter the postseason after an underwhelming 26-18 season plagued by injuries.
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Liberty → enter → injuries
They’re the eighth seed, despite having a record only one loss worse than last year when the Libs finished fifth.
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Libs → ’re → year
The thing about the postseason, though, is how a team got here doesn’t matter.
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got → get → postseason
The Liberty have a chance to write the ending they think they deserve.
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they → have → ending
They’ll face a familiar foe in the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.
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They → face → Lynx
Let’s take a look at how the two teams match up:
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teams → let → look
Olivia Miles vs. Liberty’s defense
It’s hard to know the severity of Miles’ calf injury that kept her out of the final two games of the season.
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that → ’ → season
Her availability and comfort level could swing the series.
uncertain
availability → swing → series
The goal isn’t to stop Miles but to slow her.
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goal → stop → her
The Liberty did a good job of that in their last meeting, a 93-81 Libs win on Sept. 18.
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Liberty → do → Sept.
Miles missed 10 of her first 13 shots across three quarters and was visibly frustrated at times with the Liberty’s physicality and relentlessness.
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Miles → miss → physicality
Leonie Fiebich, Pauline Astier and Rebekah Gardner took turns hounding Miles and making her work on every possession.
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her → take → possession
Jonquel Jones also blocked Miles near the rim twice.
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Jones → block → rim
Miles still managed to finish with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
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Miles → manage → points
Edge: Lynx
Breanna Stewart vs. Lynx’s defense
Similar to Miles, Stewart’s health is a notable storyline heading into the postseason.
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health → head → postseason
Stewart missed the regular-season finale with soreness in her left knee after tweaking it in a previous game.
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Stewart → miss → game
DeMarco said it was a “precautionary” measure to keep Stewart out but was noncommittal about her availability in the postseason.
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it → say → postseason
History tells us she’ll play.
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she → tell → us
She almost willed the Libs to a win in the first round last year while playing on one knee.
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She → will → knee
Stewart is without a doubt the best player in this series, and the Lynx seem to be her favorite team to play against.
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Lynx → seem → series
The former MVP is averaging 25.7 points and eight rebounds in the Liberty’s three games against Minnesota this season.
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MVP → average → Minnesota
She’s also drained six of her 10 attempts from deep in the regular-season series.
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She → drain → series
Expect Stewart’s business partner Napheesa Collier to draw the primary matchup.
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partner → expect → matchup
She previously said she’s operating at about 80-85 percent after having offseason surgery on both of her ankles.
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she → say → ankles
Edge: Liberty
3-point shooting
The Liberty are a high-volume 3-point shooting team, attempting 29.3 shots from deep per game — nearly five more than the Lynx.
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Liberty → attempt → Lynx
Winning this battle will come down to which version of Sabrina Ionescu shows up.
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version → win → Ionescu
She’s really struggled this season, converting on below 30 percent of her outside attempts for the second consecutive season.
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She → struggle → season
Let’s put it this way: Ionescu is averaging nearly the same number of 3s per game as Jones, who’s attempting two fewer shots.
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who → put → shots
Edge: Even
Depth/bench
The Liberty can go deeper into their bench than the Lynx to allow starters some time to breathe.
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Liberty → go → time
DeMarco deployed a nine-player rotation (10 if you count Marine Fauthoux’s one-minute of action) earlier this month in Minnesota, while Cheryl Reeve ran with eight.
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Reeve → deploy → eight
The Liberty’s bench is top-five in scoring, with 23.4 points per game, while Lynx reserves average a league-low 15.4 points.
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reserves → average → points
Edge: Liberty
Coaching
Reeve became the WNBA’s all-time winningest head coach earlier this year.
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Reeve → become → coach
Her 52-31 postseason record ranks first in league history.
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record → rank → history
She’s been at the helm of seven Finals runs, including four championship wins.
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She → include → wins
DeMarco’s experience pales in comparison.
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experience → pal → comparison
But, as Liberty players mentioned last week, there’s a steep learning curve between the men’s and women’s game.
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players → mention → game
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
