September 1st, 2017: San Antonio at New York

Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Liberty were never really threatened in their 81-69 win over the San Antonio Stars. Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince each had 16 points to pace New York, with Charles adding eight rebounds. Kelsey Plum had a game-high 18 points for the Stars, with Kayla Alexander adding 15 points and nine rebounds.

For frustration with Canadians, chastely holding hands, decent bench play, some tone-deafness, and the next great adventure, join your intrepid and emotionally drained blogger after the jump.

Hey, gang!

Not gonna lie, this week has been about a year long, but that’s for non-GNoD reasons, so won’t let you worry any more than you have to. It’s game day at the Garden, and that’s the only thing that matters right now. It’s Fan Appreciation Night as the Liberty play their final regular season home game, against the very same team they opened the home slate with, the San Antonio Stars.

Everyone got off the floor in a hurry; I got to my seat at 46 minutes before tip, and the only player on the floor was Tina Charles, doing extra drills with Herb Williams. (And for a brief moment, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, but that’s because she forgot her pants.)

Kym Hampton and Sue Wicks were out on the concourse signing autographs before with John Starks and Larry Johnson. Kym was shooting baskets for a while after that, but is now coming off the floor and blowing kisses to the fans.

I’m kind of tired of Mike W. taking off big games. I don’t know if I like the Knicks’ guy.

The Liberty broke a long-standing tradition by not having Kym Hampton sing the anthem for Fan Appreciation Day/Night, but I don’t mind. Kym’s been losing her voice over the years.

Should San Antonio fans, players, and/or coaches be concerned that Ruth Riley is present for this game? She looks good. (I am less fond of Vickie Johnson’s Wonderful Ice Cream Suit; something about the soulders just isn’t working for me.)

I’m pretty sure this DJ is related to our team president. I’m less than impressed with his skills. He comes off as more of a radio DJ than a mixing DJ- a good song chooser, but not one who’s going to shake them up a lot.

Oh, yeah, it’s 38-36 at halftime, with two teams who seem to mostly have run out of give-a-damn. The Liberty played all 11 players in the first half; Amanda Zahui B was the first sub. Lots of physical contact, lots of curious calls.

I’m not going to say that wasn’t fun, but I’m also not going to say it was a prime example of how basketball should be played. It seemed pretty clear that the Liberty were playing back to protect their players, and the Stars had parts but no real clear sense of what they were doing with those parts, or how to use them to complement each other.

Shay Murphy played briefly in both halves, but did nothing worth noting. Sequoia Holmes has good length, but one play stands out for all the wrong reasons: she deked, got Rebecca Allen up in the air with nowhere to go, and then threw up a shot so bad you could use it to build a house down in Comet land.

I don’t think the new haircut is working for Cierra Burdick, but she showed the hustle that made Liberty fans want to keep her, going after loose balls and getting physical on defense. She and Shavonte Zellous had some words, but they seemed to be the friendly kind, even after hard contact. Dearica Hamby needs to work on her screens- there was at least one where her hip went out very sharply, and it probably should have been a foul. I’m not sure she’s sure wha ther role is with this team. I’m actually not sure how many people on this team know what their role needs to be, but that’s a systemic problem, I think. Sydney Colson has good speed, and used it to take advantage of Lindsay Allen. I keep saying she’s a good understudy for Moriah Jefferson, and that might be part of why the Stars are so determined to keep her- while it’s nice to have a change-of-pace player, it’s also nice to have someone who can get you used to working with your starter.

We got a good look at how Kelsey Plum can play when she has confidence and she gets space- she can shoot, and she can score at the basket (though perhaps not as much as she thinks; that last sweeping shot at the rim was sort of pathetic). I don’t know if San Antonio knows how they want to use her yet. I feel like she might be best used as a microwave off the bench, but I don’t know if San Antonio has that luxury. Kayla McBride was able to hit consistently when she was given space, but had trouble creating that space, and obviously the Liberty defense wasn’t inclined to give her space. She was both the recipient and the thrower of ridiculously high passes. Alex Montgomery brought physical defense and the utter assurance that she could hit corner threes. She hit a couple of them, but not nearly as many as she was taking. She did a good job of clearing the glass around bigger players.

Kayla Alexander has a funky looking jump shot, but it seems to work for her. She did a lot of good work close to the basket as well. I’m not sure if the defensive game plan was to leave her open and cover the shooters or not, but that’s how it worked out. She’s got great hustle- she’s going to be a solid center in this league for years to come. She might have an All-Star year or two, but I think what will be more important will be her longevity. Isabelle Harrison complements her well, active boxing out on the boards. Someone’s got to work with her on that high, hard free throw, though- she seems to rely too heavily on getting the right bounce off the back of the rim, and that’s not a viable plan. (I mean, as a Liberty fan, I’m cool with her leaving four points on the board, but as a basketball fan it just slightly hurts my soul.) We were able to recognize her from when she tore us up last game, and forced her into shots she didn’t necessarily want to take.

I just don’t know if San Antonio knows what hey’re doing, either collectively or individually, and I think that’s where their leadership has failed them. They don’t really have a long-term veteran to hold them together (no, I don’t think Holmes is that player). Most of the team is still young. They’re finding their way, and maybe pairing such a young team with a rookie head coach and a rookie GM was a bad idea.

Amanda Zahui B was first off the bench in the first half for the Liberty, and last in the second half, and somehow neither of those things really should surprise me, especially regarding this game. She started off well, with a beautiful find of Kiah Stokes in the lane, but she was otherwise tentative at the wrong times, overconfident at the wrong times, and really needs to stop fouling people on defense. Some surprisingly good offensive play at the rim from Rebecca Allen- she was driving hard and not settling for jumpers. Extended playing time seems to have given her confidence. Or maybe it’s just San Antonio.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe needs to work on her free throws- 3-6 is not acceptable. But her motor never stopped- she was going for rebounds and loose balls like there was no tomorrow, and she had a gorgeous finish in the second half that was all grace and athleticism. Kiah Stokes was inviting everyone to the 7th Avenue Block Party down low, and she finished well near the basket (always a good sign, since she can be so inconsistent in that regard). Lindsay Allen got a very long look in both halves, running the offense, and I like her passing vision, but at the same time I’d like to see her be more confident in her own shot- she had turnovers that were unnecessary because she was trying to force the ball to other players inside instead of taking the shot herself. Her defensive positioning also needs some work, but I think that’ll come faster than the offensive confidence. (It seems counter-intuitive, but there you go.) Sugar Rodgers took some dumb shots at the basket, but was also hitting her jumpers, and was pesky on defense. Maybe she’s starting to find her groove again.

Tina Charles brings such finesse and power that you run out of words to describe it sometimes. She spins towards the basket, and you feel like she can do anything she wants, even things that might be physically impossible. She played minimal minutes and still stole the show. You can see how hard she works, with two or three defenders on her and around her, and she still makes it look easy because all the parts just flow together. Kia Vaughn did a nice job on the offensive glass, and cleaned up a few messes. Sometimes that’s all we need out of her- a little bit of offense, a good amount of defense, and the certainty for the other team that if they go too hard at Tina, there will be pain to pay.

Shavonte Zellous was quiet (or as quiet as Z gets- there was a sequence in the first half where she objected so much to a foul called against her that Kia had to calm her down, and Kia Vaughn being the calming influence in a situation is never the expected or desired result) in the first half. In the third quarter, she got aggressive and started driving to the basket, drawing and hitting free throws. She was the spark we needed to keep the game out of San Antonio’s reach. Epiphanny Prince seemed to take Kelsey Plum scoring baskets on her court kind of personal for some reason; it seemed like every time Plum scored, Piph would be the one to respond. Maybe it’s some sort of numerological convergeance, maybe they had a side bet based on the football game, maybe it’s coincidence. I don’t know, but it was funny, and useful. Bria Hartley didn’t have a good game, but it was a well-balanced game, which is also helpful. Her defense is improving, which I also appreciate.

It was clear that the Liberty weren’t going full throttle in this one. There was no need to. Just play well enough to win, keep a firm grasp on the fundamentals, and try not to get hurt. When you’re playing an out-of-contention team, that’s all you need. I’m not even sure how much the team actually cares about getting #3 as opposed to #4. There are too many variables to be sure one is better than the other, other than the satisfaction of being better than Connecticut and Washington.

I’m not sure how a shot that’s still in the player’s hand when the shot clock expires can be clearly said to have come before the end of the shot cluck, but you do you, Roy Gulbeyan; you always have. Officiating could have been worse; it can always be worse, I suppose. At least no one got too badly hurt and the outcome of the game wasn’t in question. At this point, that’s about all I can expect out of W officials.

There was a feature on Hopey’s Heart and the life that was saved by one of the foundation’s AEDs, and I’m pretty sure Piph and Amanda were wondering how it got so dusty in MSG all of a sudden. They both looked like they were sniffling a little. It’s okay. It’s an amazing story of how much trying to make a difference in the world matters.

Sitting behind the bench (not directly behind, that takes more money than I make, but close enough) gives a really good perspective on Shavonte Zellous as an off-the-court leader- she always seems to be talking to her teammates, whether she’s trying to encourage them or teach them.

For Fan Appreciation Night, there seemed to be a minimum of fan appreciation going on. Usually there are extra giveaways- there weren’t. There was one video near the end of the game showing the team interacting with fans, with no words from the players. The traditional fan appreciation gift is a t-shirt; this year we got a lapel pin and I’m pretty sure mine is broken. It felt like any other game. Honestly, between early access to the arena, early access to the autograph session, and the discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages, it felt more like a Chase Cardholder Appreciation Night. Which, I would have no problem with if it were labeled that way. But it wasn’t, and I don’t bank at Chase, so. This has consistently been the one thing the Liberty have done better since the end of the Blaze era, and seeing a backslide of this nature and magnitude makes me sad.

By the way, have I mentioned lately that I loathe the new playoff system? Because I loathe the playoff system. A 20-win season should not come down to one game. But at least we have that one game, and your intrepid blogger will be there come hell or high water on the 10th. This is the right time of year to be hot, and this is the right time of year to put all the pieces together. Let’s surprise the big guns, shall we?