September 18th, 2008: Connecticut at New York

New York Liberty 72, Connecticut Sun 65

Liberty basketball, firing on most cylinders. Have I mentioned lately that Ashley Battle is awesome?


Ladies and gentlemen, this is Liberty basketball- perhaps not quite at its finest, but right up there. A couple of great performances, a bunch of good performances, and you're left wondering what the hell happened to at least two major players from the opposing team. Offense and defense, balanced. That makes me a happy Libkid. Plus, y'know, Thriller.

Getting to this game early was of paramount importance- no one wants to miss an episode of the Ashley and Tamika Happy Funtime Hour. This was the Very Special Guest Star edition, with cameos by Svetlana Abrosimova, Barbara Turner, and Jessica Davenport. (If you're wondering which one of these things is not like the others, Jess was one of Raymond's pupils while Raymond was an assistant at Ohio State.) A few people got pictures of the sundry Huskies posed together. Asjha Jones did not make herself available for the photo op, and Swanier wasn't dressed, so the complete set was not available. Tamika Whitmore wandered around with someone's kid for a while, which was absolutely adorable, don't get me wrong, but I did wonder if she was going to forget to give the kid back. (She remembered.) Cathrine showed remarkable patience. Loree revealed the lack of 'fro. Mind you, I was never as hard on the 'fro as most folks, but I like her better as Spoon Junior. Also as regards Libkid appearance, they seem to have taken a page from the Olympics- a few of them seemed to have little Liberty temporary tattoos on their arms.

So in case no one got the memo, Tamika Whitmore does in fact have an outside shot, and she does enjoy using it, and if it starts going in, then she feels more like going inside, and she starts seriously scoring. But if leaving her open is the price we pay for controlling both Whalen and Jones, I will pay that price in a heartbeat, believe me- that allowed the posts to double on Jones, who was very much unprepared for the pressure. Whalen was very much out of her element- whether she was trying to force things through her teammates, or because the Liberty defense was giving her hell, she just wasn't making things happen at her usual level of excellence. I'll let someone else run the plus-minus, because I'm not sure that the Sun were technically better with her in the game than they were with Phillips in. Holt's got a good nose for the ball- that's one thing I like about her, and I suspect one thing that Thibault likes about her- but there was a good reason Turner played more of her minutes than she did. Turner was much more prepared mentally and physically, and was better able to handle the pressure. Gardin's another garbage collector, more athletic and less scoring-inclined than Raymond, but still a duplication of skills that I'm not so sure I would have gone with. Lots of time for Abrosimova, and while she was more aggressive offensively than she was the last time I saw her, she wasn't as active defensively, except for one gorgeous pickpocketing moment. Phillips is… well, she's crazy. That's really the best single word for it. The extended mix might be "it's like someone took Debbie Black's soul and stuffed it in Michele Timms's body!" Crazy, intense, physical, dangerously close to dirty, and ridiculously strong- anyone who can knock Ashley Battle over and leave her lying on the floor in slight confusion for several seconds is seriously badass, as is someone who can bounce of Loree Moore like nothing happened.

It's good to have Janel back, it really is. She makes things happen. Granted, occasionally those things look rather like she thinks she's back in Minnesota, like when she pulls off a snazzy pass right to Lindsay Whalen, but in general, they are good things, including a repeat of the infamous Chicago shot. It was obvious that her back was bothering her, given the short spurts in which she played, so that makes her game even more impressive. Good thing Erlana was there to step up. Solid game off the bench for her. Loree found the braids and found her inner Spoon- 7/4/7 is nothing to complain about, but I'm worried about that hit she took late in the game- she was hurting bad (though I kinda liked that Ashley came over to check on her immediately, and looked like she was ready to smite as necessary). Shameka was hitting big shots- that four-point play was awesome. Cathrine seemed to be slacking off after she got her double-double, but she was part of the defensive scheme that kept Jones quiet, so I shan't complain, and she did have that ridiculously deep three early in the game. Essence barely played- which is too bad, because her missed shots were mostly victims of the rim and she was rebounding something fierce- but Ashley was also awesome. (However, Ashley, plz to be thinking before you take threes early in the clock. Not necessarily necessary.) I'd like for That Moron to have more faith in Essence in the second half, but it's not as if I mind AB out there. I keep thinking Leilani played more than she actually did- she matched up with Phillips, which was interesting, to say the least. Why Erin? Just… why? Either run plays for her, use her as a decoy, or let her coach. Lisa's the more versatile player. And as soon as Jess made a mistake, forget about it. She was parked on the bench even when Erlana was in foul trouble and Janel's back was really obviously acting up. We do not approve.

Things that did not rock. Yes, there were a couple, despite the general rockitude of the Libkids tonight. Gimme back my Donna Summer, MSG! This new video isn't as good, and the song sounds like something out of a porn movie. "Stamp Your Feet" is so damn cool and so appropriate that it's a sin to give it up. Also, the anthem singer… I hope she sticks to piano, that's all I'll say.

Oh, and the refs. The "aw, shit" that came out of my mouth as soon as Michael Price was announced was drowned out by the "aw, shit" as our venerable PA announcer added Roy Gulbeyan's name to the list. Yeah, they were pretty much what you'd expect. Sun fans and Liberty fans may differ on the precise nature of the suckitude- for me, the nadir was when Lindsay Whalen ran into a screen like she was throwing a check for the North Stars… and drew an offensive foul. The calling style varied wildly. It was some crazy shit. Denise Brooks (possibly no longer –Clauser?) must be wondering who she pissed off at home office to get these two nimrods.

Best mistake of the night- "Now entering the game for the Liberty, #50, Lindsay Davenport." Entire sections were lost to hysteria. Jessica Davenport is many things. A tennis player is not one of them. Nor do I want to imagine what she would look like on that particular court. I think Mike W.'s started drinking before games. He's made some pretty spectacular mistakes this year, though this was certainly the best.

Libkids are love. I think it'll be sweep or weep for them- so let's go Liberty and I'll see you Saturday.