27 years: the montage edition

27 years. We all we got; we all we need. We all we are; we all we ever, ever were. 

27 years. Roll the tape. And then let's look at the outtakes. 

I start at the beginning, because that's where we started. There is not enough we can do or say for those who dropped the best of their years down the chasm, for whom our beginning was closer to their ending. No number of trophies won by other people can make up for that. There isn't a throng of cheering fans big enough to fill the little gyms in Italy, in Germany, in Japan, in Russia, in other spots all over the world from before Brooklyn was even an option.

They laid the foundation. This 2024 team reached the pinnacle. But you don't get from the foundation to the pinnacle without the floors in the middle. There's history there too, as much as it hurts to look at it. We are not who we are without them, either. 

Because there were Huskies in New York before Breanna Stewart, after Rebecca Lobo. There's something of Kiah Stokes, her old teammate, in the authority of her blocks. There's something of Swin Cash in the imperious tilt of her chin and the swift sure movements of long arms and long legs. There's something of Tina Charles in her, the craving to prove herself on the biggest stage she calls home, even as she's already proven her personal bona fides elsewhere; there too, is Orange County's own Stefanie Dolson and Suffolk County's own Bria Hartley. Pull the camera back a little, and coming home is nothing new to this franchise, from Long Island's Sue Wicks to Manhattan's Bethany Donaphin to the Bronx's Kia Vaughn to Brooklyn's Tanisha Wright. Look shallower into the numbers. We've seen #30 pulling down hard-earned rebounds before as Shea Mahoney fought for boards at MSG, as DeTrina White cleaned the glass on the stage at Radio City. #30's gone from Katelan Redmon on the bench to Katie Smith playing the final leg of her legendary career. We've seen #30 commanding the huddle before, Tanisha Wright pulling the team around her and forcing them to believe. After Breanna, we may never see it again. 

If anyone understands the heavy weight of legacy, it's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a player's daughter, a coach's goddaughter. Being in the second generation is nothing new to she who played on the banks of the Raritan, already familiar with the shadows of Sue Wicks and Cappie Pondexter even before her winding road took her to New York. But when she steps out on the floor, the echoes that answer are Essence Carson's and Erica Wheeler's, bringing the defense, willing to sacrifice on the offensive end for the good of the team. I can hardly think of two players less alike than Betnijah and Tamika Whitmore... until I look at the #44 on the front of the jersey. Pull back the focus, off the court to the sounds of someone enthusiastically singing Beyoncé: is that Betnijah or is that Kia Vaughn? In her glitz and glamour while injured, she invokes DiDi Richards, Tiffany Jackson, Shameka Christon. 

If you know your history, and I mean the deep lore, you know who Big 20 is. You know how long he's been with the Liberty, even before he was a Timeless Torch. And maybe the #20 is for Sabrina Ionescu now. But those who were there when the deep magic was written know that #20 was originally for Shameka Christon. Shameka was supposed to be the star who, buttressed and taught by the veterans around her, would take the Liberty to the next level. She was supposed to be the next generation. Instead, her fate was inextricably entangled with that of Cappie Pondexter, a superstar combo guard who could either score in bunches or make herself a selfless passer, but in so many ways never found a balance. Cappie chose New York, and then chose not to choose it. Sabrina, the superstar combo guard looking for- and more and more often finding- that on-court balance between volume scorer and selfless passer, was chosen by New York, and then chose New York. And so #20 goes from the historical footnote of Stacey Ford, to Shameka's potential frustrated and squandered, to Sabrina's ascendance as the star who brought the Liberty to the next level. 

The echoes are a little harder to pinpoint for Courtney Vandersloot, at least until the intros start and the vowels start getting drawn out: Suuuuuuuue, Spooooooooooon, Schuuuuuuuueyyyyyy, Kraaaaaaaaaay, Ekuuuuuuuunwe, Slooooooot. Maybe it's because so much of her history belongs to other cities, like Katie Smith's did, like Swin Cash's did, like Taj McWilliams-Franklin's did. Maybe it's because she's so far from the Evergreen State that made her, following in the footsteps of Leilani Mitchell and Alex Montgomery and Cathrine Kraayeveld. Maybe it's because #22 has so often belonged to easy smiles like Lindsey Yamasaki's and Jessica Bibby's, or the big personalities of Ashley Battle and DeMya Walker, and that's not the vibe for someone who tries to avoid all encounters with people. And maybe that's right for the quintessential pass-first leader: you find her by finding the connections around her. 

Jonquel Jones is one-of-one in so many ways, but the simplest is this: no one else has worn #35 in the regular season for the New York Liberty. Let her stay, let her keep rising, and maybe no one else ever will. The parallels aren't as elegant; the path isn't as smooth. She's not the first from the Atlantic 10, both old and new; before her came Quanitra Hollingsworth and Ta'Shia Phillips. She's not the first from the islands; before her there was Antigua's own Desiree Francis, and before either of them was one of our first, Simone Edwards, the Jamaican Hurricane, and may her memory be a blessing as bright and joyous as she ever was. In her astonishing passing eye, in the angles no center seems to have a right to find, there's a trace of Janel McCarville. In JJ's unabashed, unfettered, unrelenting pride, there too is an echo of Shavonte Zellous, and they've both picked up their pens to write about it. 

#35 is one-of-one as a jersey number for the New York Liberty. #13 is far from it. #13's been there since the beginning, from our neglected pioneer Sophia Witherspoon, to Marina Ferragut's soft touch in the paint, to the toughness of Mactabene Amachree, to all that never was for Jocelyn Willoughby. Now it's on the back of Leonie Fiebich, and it's an omen of ill fortune for the guard looking up at her. She's not the first German to find her way to New York; there's always going to be a special place in my heart for the sweetness of Linda Fröhlich, for whom I learned how to type diacritical marks, and for Martina Weber, The One Who Made It for the Iona Gaels. But wind it back. It's a short jump back to the phenomenal defensive flexibility of Natasha Howard, inside and out; it's a longer jump back to the backcourt trapping of Sue Wicks and Becky Hammon driving opposing guards mad. There's something of Elena Baranova and Cathrine Kraayeveld in those corner threes, so unexpected from someone of that height and that build. 

And where you find Leonie, you find Nyara Sabally. Because you always seem to find Nyara as part of a pair, don't you? The two Germans, the two Ducks, the two sisters. Bookends, like K.B. Sharp and Erin Thorn waiting outside Radio City. But let Nyara stand alone, too, straight and tall while a would-be defender bounces off her like water off a Duck's back- and there's Cathrine again, setting a Screen of Death to free up a teammate. There's Carolyn Swords, the big body in the paint, making space as defenders run headlong into that #8 jersey. There's another #8 sliding through the gap thus created, Edwige Lawson-Wade finding the seam for the drive and dish. Listen close to the thunder of the "SA-BA-LLY!" chant and there is a hint, an echo, a trace of "OL-GA! OL-GA!", for Olga Firsova, a folk hero on a smaller scale than Nyara ever was. 

In so many ways, Kayla Thornton fits into the history of this team. #5 has belonged to an eclectic mix of players, from defensive specialist Kisha Ford, to the faded glory of Venus Lacy, to Grace Daley who we don't talk about, to the sharpshooter Erin Thorn, to deceptively diminutive Leilani Mitchell, to the one-year-wonder of Shoni Schimmel, to Chelsea Hopkins, to Kia Nurse. It seems appropriate that Kayla, herself an eclectic mix, should follow in their collective footsteps. But we have to go deeper than the commonality of a jersey number or the alma mater she shares with Natasha Lacy to find Kayla's predecessors. There's something to be said for her off-court unpredictability, the kind of quirkiness that's made Ashley Battle a long-time favorite fondly remembered out of proportion to her skill and role. Go further still, and beneath the lightness of seafoam there has always been steel, deep in the heart. There's Kayla fighting for a loose ball; there's Tiffany Jackson-Jones battling on the glass; there's Plenette Pierson, ferociously boxing out. 

The easiest parallel to Jaylyn Sherrod is Chucky Jeffery, the Colorado alumna who wore 0 before Jaylyn did. Easy- but New York doesn't do easy. Wouldn't have taken 27 years to get here if we did. New York never stops moving, never stops hustling, never gives up. It's no wonder Liberty fans took a shine to Jaylyn and the energy she bursts with. Give us the speedsters who never learned how to stop, blurring behind her like an afterimage as she breaks to the basket: Jazmine Jones, Brittany Boyd, Sydney Colson, Sherill Baker, Jessica Bibby.   Give us the ones who beat the odds, like Erica Wheeler, like Sami Whitcomb, like DeMya Walker, like Becky Hammon, who chose instead of being chosen, seized that chance with both hands, and whether here or elsewhere, raised it up like a trophy to the heavens.

Kennedy Burke's far from the first Bruin to cross the country and lace them up for the Liberty; Lisa Willis and Nikki Blue blazed that trail before her. And her number of choice is far from illustrative, or so we hope; #2 has a star-crossed history, from the misuse of Shay Doron to the warped and twisted intensity of Candice Wiggins to the travails of Adut Bulgak. No, that's not Kennedy's legacy either. We find her precedents on the waiver wire, in long trails of transaction history. We find her in Reshanda Gray pulling down a contested rebound, in Avery Warley-Talbert boxing out a taller opponent, in La'Keshia Frett sending back a shot with extreme prejudice, in the experience of Barbara Farris leading from the bench. We find Kennedy's place within Liberty history in a litany of places, in a suitcase, in a passport stamp.

What do you say of a player you've hardly seen? How do I draw from the past to illustrate Marquesha Davis's present? I can't turn to the surface-level similarities, not when #1 has a history shorter and scanter than almost any number not in the Ring of Honor thanks to Maddie wearing it for so long, not when the only other Rebel we've had was of the Nevadan variety. Among the youngest of our players, we look not to the future, but to the concept of the future, to everything we've ever hoped for our first-round picks, whether they soared like Shameka Christon, or were cruelly grounded like AD Durr, or were potential we never developed like Toni Young. In that slow Southern drawl, there's echoes too: Shameka again, another daughter of the Gemstone State; Tupelo's own Tamika Whitmore; so many others who called the Southeast home. 

We got to see flashes of what Ivana Dojkić showed more consistently elsewhere. Is it fair to try and fit her into place based solely on those? Two simple ties anchor her to Liberty history: the second #18, following Lorela Cubaj; the second Croatian, following Korie Hlede. I keep wanting to look deeper. Surely there's a better match. If the bigger picture doesn't work, snapshots will: the 14-point win against Chicago, where we needed every one of her 12 points and her single steal. "Next man up": everyone has their day, like Stefanie Dolson going completely unconscious from three, like Erin Thorn and the two halfcourt heaves, like Bethany Donaphin and the jump shot. It's a good day when you don't need that kind of day, but there's something to be said for those who stay ready. 

A lot of Liberty fans were politely bemused during the championship celebrations when Rebekah Gardner was brought out on stage with the rest of the team, despite never spending a second on the active roster. But they also serve who stand and wait, or so Milton wrote. (John, not DeLisha.) There's Kamiko Williams in the stands with her crutches; there's Carolyn Jones-Young, working her way back through an ACL tear, more known in Liberty history for who she wasn't than what she ever did; there's Simone Edwards on the developmental roster, watching, learning, waiting. Bek had to do a lot of waiting, too, waiting and working overseas for most of her prime until she finally got a chance to play in the US at 31. So many of the originals can relate to that; after all, in 1997, they were all rookies, even 31-year-olds like Trena Trice and Teresa Weatherspoon. And it's almost become a recurring joke how often players who share her name, albeit in a more familiar spelling, have found their way to New York: Rebecca Richman in the draft, Rebecca Allen through international free agency, Rebecca Hammon as a legendarily undrafted rookie (even if she does persist in going by Becky)... and we end where we began, the last to the first: Rebecca Lobo, one of the first players to put faith in the WNBA, one of the first to wear Lady Liberty's torch over her heart. 

So roll the tape. And then look between the frames. Between Kym and Nyara posting up, you might catch a glimpse of Jessica Davenport. Between Spoon's braids and Jaylyn's locks flying in the air, you might see Loree Moore's braids whip around. Off camera, between Sloot's pass and Crystal's finish, maybe Kara Braxton's screening off a defender. Pan instead of cut. Pull the camera back. 

History can be a chain if we let it be, if we let six years and one year define all twenty-seven. Looking too far to the past risks overlooking the moments in the middle, the ones that have shaped this team as much as any others. The zenith at Barclays would not be as high without the nadir of Westchester; the championship would not be as sublime without the ridiculousness of Radio City; the homecoming to Brooklyn would never have felt so sweet without the years in Newark. This title belongs, first and foremost, to the players who earned it on the floor, and then to those they choose to share it with. But we can't say that only the trailblazers matter. It's a disservice to the players who were never given the chance to enjoy the bright lights to leave them in the shadows. We all we got/we all we need means all.

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27 years: the jump cut edition

27 years. We all we got; we all we need. We all we are; we all we ever, ever were.

27 years. Roll the tape. And then let's go behind the scenes.

It's 1997. I'm 12 years old. My mother, the sports fan in the family, is dragging me to MSG for the New York Liberty's first ever home game. The place is almost sold out. The energy is through the roof. Michele Timms's platinum hair shines so bright under the lights. The Liberty win.

It's 2024. I'm 40 years old. Barclays Center is sold out to the rafters. The energy is through the roof. The lights are so bright. The Liberty win.

It's 1998. My mom and I are bringing friends to games to have something in common with them. G goes to one; T goes to another.

It's 2024, and T and I are both season subscribers, connecting after close to twenty years out of contact. She meets my husband; I meet her wife.

It's 1999. Rebecca Lobo plants, twists, crashes. The Garden shakes and goes quiet, unable to process.

It's 2024. Rebecca Lobo is courtside at the broadcast table, quiet, unable to process. Barclays is shaking and roaring.

It's 1999. A pass-first, defensive-minded point guard has just hit the most iconic shot the franchise has ever seen.

It's 2024. A shoot-first, offensive-minded point guard is making the right pass at the right time and playing one of the best defensive games of her life.

It's 2001. Our front office is expecting us to believe that the only lesbian associated with the New York Liberty is Carol Blazejowski.

It's 2024. The Finals MVP is at center court kissing the adorably tiny woman she's going to marry one of these days, and two of her teammates have their wives on court to celebrate with them.

It's 2002. Sue Wicks is hitting a corner three, anything to keep her team alive in this game. It's not enough, and two days later Nikki Teasley drives home the dagger to send the Liberty home as bridesmaids again.

It's 2024. Sue Wicks is sitting, and mostly standing, courtside, to see the Liberty no longer be left as bridesmaids.

It's 2003. The game against the Comets hasn't started yet and we're hanging out at the Garden, fans just talking and telling stories as the players arrive for shootaround. I'm collecting autographs; he's trying to pick up a girl.

It's 2024. He's asleep in our bed, wrapped in my favorite quilt. The other girl has moved from another country to another state, but she flies out for every Finals game in New York, and after Game 5 we meet her girlfriend.

It's 2003. Liberty fans are irrationally superstitious about the new blue jerseys.

It's 2024. Liberty fans are irrationally superstitious about the new white jerseys.

It's 2004. A'riel is seven days old, the tiniest speck of a human slung in a papoose on her mother's broad back as they ride the escalator to the club seats.

It's 2024. A'riel is a junior in college. She wears her mother's number, she has her mother's eyes, and thanks to conference realignment, she'll visit her mother's alma mater in 2025.

It's 2004. The Liberty and the Shock are playing the first game at Radio City. Detroit's Swin Cash chases a loose ball upstage right and upstages herself straight into the orchestra pit.

It's 2024. Former Liberty player and front office exec Swin Cash pulls Teresa Weatherspoon into the spotlight, choosing to be upstaged.

It's 2004. Bethany Donaphin hits a little jumper and sends the Garden into ecstatic chaos.

It's 2024. Bethany Donaphin works for the league office, and there's a woman in a pink suit who looks an awful lot like her trying to bring order to the ecstatic post-game chaos.

It's 2005. We're hanging out down by the rail, getting autographs and wishing our players good luck. Cards are still at the fringe of being cheap, and I bring extras for the kids.

It's 2024. One of those kids has, for reasons I still don't understand, moved to Kentucky. He's hosting a viewing party for Game 5 at his house. There's 40 people there. He's not one of them. He flew home to be with his people, in that place, at that time, for that moment.

It's 2006. The official Liberty website is telling us to push our Robinson and Baranova jerseys to the back of the closet because the players have moved on.

It's 2024. Crystal Robinson is wearing her jersey on a championship float coming down the Canyon of Heroes, reunited with her teammates. There isn't a closet in sight.

It's 2007. The kids are trying. They love each other, but it's not enough.

It's 2024. They're not kids, but they're trying. They love each other. It's finally enough.

It's 2008. Essence Carson, growing into a fan favorite, brings the trademark Rutgers lock-down defense.

It's 2024. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, long grown into a fan favorite, brings the trademark Rutgers lock-down defense.

It's 2009. The Liberty earn the #1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft. Except that they don't hold the pick. They traded it months ago, traded it to Los Angeles for Sidney Spencer. LA doesn't hold it either; they've already sent it elsewhere to bring home Noelle Quinn. It's 2009 and the #1 pick for 2010 is in the hands of the Minnesota Lynx.

(It's 2010. Minnesota doesn't hold the pick anymore either. They're bringing home Lindsay Whalen with it, sending the #1 and Renee Montgomery to Connecticut for the favorite daughter of the Gopher State.)

It's 2009. The Sacramento Monarchs fold, and we still miss them. The Liberty take Nicole Powell first overall in the dispersal draft. The Lynx take Rebekkah Brunson with the next pick.

It's 2009. This team is going to kill me one of these days. I just hope I die happy.

It's 2024. this team is trying to kill me but what else is new

It's 2010. I'm combing stray newspapers on the train, looking for anything more than an AP blurb or a half-hearted mini-article about my team.

It's 2024. Kayla Thornton is screaming in joy on the front cover of the New York Post, the city's most right-wing newspaper.

It's 2011. The WNBA is pushed aside to make way for "offseason" renovations at MSG.

It's 2024. The NBA moves aside to make room for the WNBA.

It's 2012. It's 2013. We're slogging to New Jersey, through New Jersey. It's a blur, a dull march on a treadmill to nowhere.

It's 2024. We're on a train in Brooklyn, a fast-moving blur. It's New York or nowhere.

It's 2014. We're trading with Connecticut for a former MVP, proud daughter of Caribbean heritage, who says she wants to be in New York. We gamble three years of first-round picks on her. It doesn't work.

It's 2024. We've traded with Connecticut for a former MVP, proud daughter of the Caribbean, who says she wants to be in New York. We've sent away three players for her. It works.

It's 2015. We're choking away a 15-point lead to the Fever. We can't put them away that night. We don't put them away. One of the best seasons in Liberty history ends in the semifinals.

It's 2024. We're choking away an 18-point lead to the Lynx. We can't put them away that night. But we put them away. It ends with a trophy.

It's 2016. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take-all game at home. Phoenix springs the second-round upset and it's over.

It's 2017. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take all game at home. Washington springs the second-round upset and it's over.

It's 2024. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take-all game at home. Minnesota digs deep. New York digs deeper and it's over.

It's 2018. We're playing in Westchester County Center. There isn't a good seat in the house. The concession stands are occasionally on fire. The lighting is dim and the acoustics are terrible. The train back to the city runs once an hour and leaves five minutes before the end of a typical regulation game. Bee-Line buses back to the subway are cheaper, but make getting home a multi-hour ordeal.

It's 2024. We're playing at the Barclays Center. The seats are good. The concession stands are fire. The lights are bright and the sounds are loud. Half the trains in the city connect to bring everyone here, to bring everyone home.

It's 2019. No one wants to be in the shitty church basement. The fans don't or can't; the seats are half empty. The players don't; they're going through the motions on the floor.

It's 2024. There isn't an empty seat in the house. This is the place everyone wants to be.

It's 2020. We're all scared and alone and confused and worried. And also Sabrina Ionescu is lying on the court holding her ankle, in case Liberty fans needed a more concrete metaphor for the loss of hope.

It's 2024. Sabrina's lying on the court holding her face. In the stands, we're together and relieved and overjoyed.

It's 2021. The arenas are refilling, slowly, carefully. We're still collectively feeling our way through a changed world.

It's 2024. The arenas are full. We're collectively feeling our way through a changed world.

It's 2023. Role players step up for the best team in the league, and the Las Vegas Aces celebrate a title on the floor of Barclays Center.

It's 2024. Role players step up for the best team in the league, and the New York Liberty celebrate a title on the floor of Barclays Center.

It's 2024. I am a relieved 40-year-old woman, and I love this team.

It's 2024. I am an overjoyed 12-year-old girl, and I love this team.

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October 20th, 2024: Minnesota at New York (Game 5, WNBA Finals)

we back in this bitch and back on our shit  

A little late, but you didn't think I wasn't going to write about this, did you? So I don't forget. So we don't forget.

Of course there were Lynx fans in front of us. Perfectly nice people despite me passive-aggressiving all over them, but I sit in a section close to the Liberty bench and I keep expecting other people to consider sitting near their own bench when they travel.

When the shots were short and flat early... when the passing was sloppy and Napheesa Collier was playing like a woman possessed...it was such a strong feeling of "oh, no, here it goes again, should have known, should have known again". Game 4 against Las Vegas all over again. 2016 against Phoenix all over again. Nikki Teasley all over again. The inverse of the Charlotte miracle all over again. New York ain't for everybody, and in that first half it looked like it wasn't for the Liberty. 

But I forgot the one thing that's been consistent through this entire heavyweight title fight of a series, the one common thread. It wasn't about the first punch in any of these games. Every single time, it was about the finishing kick. And at the end of the first half, Leonie said, "Nein." And Jonquel said, "NOT AGAIN." And Breanna was there for the rebounds. 

Sabrina's shot in Game 3 is the most important shot in Liberty history now. Ruocco's statement, hyperbolic at the time, has been vindicated. But... mirrors. The most iconic shot in Liberty history came from a player who was never a shooter. The most important shot in Liberty history came from a player who is known as a shooter... but the performance that won her, won them, won us, a championship, was a master class in finding the right person at the right time, and in using every inch of her frame horizontally and vertically on defense. Sabrina played probably the most T-Spoon game of her life. 

Courtney Williams will probably hate me for quoting her in this place, at this time. But it's as true for the 2024 Liberty as it was the 2019 Sun: role players did that. The golden children who were supposed to lead us to the promised land couldn't hit water falling out of a boat- so they became role players in their way. Everyone forgot about Jonquel (including, sometimes, Sandy), but she powered through exactly when we needed her. But the biggest moments? The key pivots? Role players did that. Spare parts in multi-team trades did that. The second post off the bench did that.

 *sigh* yes, we will get this out of the way, because I strive to be honest where and when I can: the "REF YOU SUCK!" chant while Alanna Smith was lying on the floor once again trying to remember how her spine worked was completely unnecessary. That was a foul on Jonquel. Thank you to whoever in the crowd pivoted it to "WE ALL WE GOT/WE ALL WE NEED". I cannot speak on the final call in regulation, because I didn't have a good angle to see it. But refs in this league have always lagged well behind the skill, speed, and strength of the players. They've never been consistent and they've always been weak to pressure from the last person to yell at them. If you're in a position where you think you lost because of a call at the end of the game, there were other problems that were within your control to fix and you should have fixed them. 

Here is what I remember of the end of game: how clutch it was that Kayla had the ball when Minnesota had the foul to give, because she was in a position where either Carleton was going to foul out or Collier was going to foul out. And it was Collier who took the foul. I don't think Minnesota believed it. I don't think she believed it. And then the turnover. Leonie getting the steal. Time ticking away. Oh my God. They're not fouling. They're not- Buzzer. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD! Incoherent screaming. 27 years. 27 fucking years. Hugging, high-fiving. Calling my mom down in Carolina to try and get a video chat going so she could join in. Finding the friends we've known for years, for decades. Hugging. High-fiving. Kissing. Calling my mom again and just screaming over and over again, "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" at the top of my lungs, all lessons about projection and diaphragm usage forgotten. 

The players starting the MVP chant for Jonquel, who deserves the world. How stunned she looked to get that award, because the blocking sure looked like stats be damned, they were gonna feed the narrative and give it to Breanna. One hand on MVP trophy, one hand on championship trophy. 

The fans starting the "SA-BA-LLY" chant for Nyara. Oh my God. This is a city about the hustle and the grind. You put in the work and we don't care who you are, you belong. And Nyara should have gotten game ball. Really, Nyara should get whatever she wants and if she has to buy a drink in this town ever again, what are we even doing here? For her to come back from the injuries that she has, for her to be put on the spot and rise to this occasion... it's just so much. Everything is so much right now. She rose to the occasion, and her name thundered through the Barclays Center at the end of the night. Nobody else really got that. Even the MVP chants for Jonquel weren't as loud or as strong. 

27 years. There's going to be a post about that, too, about all we were then and all we are now. It's a series of jump cuts, crossing 27 years, 28 seasons, however you want to do the math. There's a lot of heartbreak in those years. There are a lot of good memories, a lot of bad memories. We've fallen down the mountain more than anyone else, and it's good, it's so good to finally be on the mountaintop. It's glorious. It's surreal. It's everything. 

 In conclusion I love everyone in this bar.

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July 24th, 2019: New York at Connecticut

some bullshit-ass half-assed notes

Good morning! It's too early for this, but here we are at Camp Day at Mohegan Sun, as Connecticut hosts New York in their last game before the All-Star break. Intrepid blogger needs caffeine badly.

At halftime, New York is somehow up 39-36. The reserves are having another good game, and this time Tina Charles has decided to remind everyone of her All-Star capabilities. Kia Nurse left with an apparent elbow injury and has not returned. I don't see any reason to risk her. (although she's warming up here at the break)

Morgan Tuck did Tari Phillips's show-the-ball trick. I'm easily amused.

I don't want to say that the Liberty are tanking, or worse, throwing games. That would be a hell of an accusation to make. But that last minute or so of game time might certainly give the impression that the players on the floor didn't particularly care if New York won that game. Terrible clock awareness. Terrible shot selection. Why are you forcing the ball inside down two or three possessions? Why are you messing around for six seconds when you only have fifteen? STAAAAAAAHP.

Rebecca Allen started the game on fire from beyond the arc, and then appeared to run out of battery power. The problem is that if Bec isn't hitting, then the flaws in her game (like her dubious defense and her tendency to panic when the defense comes hard at her) become harder to overlook, and she goes from a positive to a negative very quickly. Reshanda Gray was physical, but not advantageously so, which meant that she was getting called for fouls as often as she was getting rebounds. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was okay defensively to start her day, but got burned more often in the second half. She missed too many shots at the rim for my liking.

Brittany Boyd seems to be missing some speed with the lingering ankle issue (she had the trainer looking at it right before the game) and once again let her emotions get the best of her. I don't mind players who play with emotion. I do mind players who let it completely control them and get swallowed up too easily by frustration. She's never going to be as good as she can be if she doesn't get out of her own head sometimes. Asia Durr still looks a little gimpy from the groin injury (which should put paid to rumors that she wasn't injured) and saw both her minutes and her touches reduced. Loved to see her out there when we needed perimeter shots and the entire team is looking to force the ball inside, because that made such perfect sense. Marine Johannès demonstrated a frankly appalling lack of speed against Connecticut's guards, which Williams and Hiedeman were especially able to exploit, but even Banham was able to get a step on her regularly, and while there are many complimentary things one can say about Rachel Banham, her speed has not usually been one of the things complimented. I like Marine's style, and once she either gets to know her teammates better or learns when to tone down the fancy stuff, she'll be a huge asset to this team.

For the first time in a while, Tina Charles actually looked like a post player. It was very refreshing. She still took a lot of stupid contested shots, but at least she was getting rebounds close to the rim. I don't like that the team was trying to force the ball inside to her at the end of the game, and I don't like the number of free throws she's been missing lately. But I'm glad to see her rebounding again. I would like to see if we could get back international Amanda Zahui B. That would be nice. She hit an early three, but so much of her offense was perimeter-oriented, and I've said this before: post players being able to hit threes is a nice surprise weapon, but it ceases to be a surprise when it's all that you do. I would also like Bria Hartley to get her act together. I know she's better than this, but she's coming off as terrible when she's on the floor, even when she hits shots. She had some inexcusable defensive lapses where she essentially just gave up on her assignment, and that's unacceptable.

Okay, I'm sorry. I'm cutting the notes off here, because it's been two days and while I'm still at a casino and resort, I’m three time zones away from this game. Given that I had to cudgel my brains to remember who was starting at guard for the Liberty, I don't think I can produce acceptable notes at this point. Sorry, Sun fans. Courtney Williams was amazing in the second quarter, Jasmine Thomas took over late, and it really seems like Curt Miller has to choose between Brionna Jones and Kristine Anigwe.

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July 20th, 2019: Los Angeles at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Solid bench play fueled the New York Liberty's 83-78 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Marine Johannès had 17 points to lead New York, while Kia Nurse added 14. Nneka Ogwumike had game-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds for the short-handed Sparks in the loss.

For a truly international game, distressing superstars, Chiney Ogwumike's earnest belief that she did not commit that foul, and role reversals, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Happy belated birthday, Maddie! Happy anniversary, moon landing! (Happy birthday, dad!)

It's game day at That Dump in White Plains, known to less cynical fans as the Westchester County Center, as the Los Angeles Sparks (or at least whatever's left of them) come visit the New York Liberty.

After the smooth sailing of last game, it's back to the usual tangle of confusing and crossing lines, waits at security, and not having the ticket ready to properly. (Yes, I'm not sitting in my ticketed seat. No, I do not believe situating my mouth directly above the visiting bench is a good idea.

I don't know what happened, but I saw a trio of Sparks in hot pursuit of a teammate. No idea what was going on. Mostly guards, I think.

New DJ today. I like their taste better than the usual woman's.

On the other hand, substitute announcer is not as good as Mike.

Anthem singer thinks he's Whitney Houston or something. Narrator: He was not Whitney Houston.

It's 44-37 Liberty at halftime, and it's been reserve play doing the job for the Liberty. Marine Johannès is putting in work, with 13 points and some spectacular passes (unfortunately, Kalani Brown blocked the finish on the best one). Nneka Ogwumike has 12 points and seven rebounds for the Sparks, while Chelsea Gray has come on strong in the second quarter with 11 points, but most of the rest of the Sparks have been... not good.

There's a French family in the rows behind us cheering enthusiastically for Marine, and I love it.

I don't know if someone sprung for a spa visit for Katie or something, but she looks amazing. Refreshed, relaxed, well-coiffed, sharply dressed.

Asia Durr's street clothes brought to you by the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.

Beating the Sparks is always fun. After all, this is the league's oldest rivalry. How we did it honestly amazes me as well. I'm not used to our bench play being so solid.

There is a whole lot of Kalani Brown, but she seems somehow less balanced about it than her draft classmate Teaira McCowan. Her thighs/upper legs seem out of proportion to the rest of her. She brought a lot of physicality to the floor. Her foul trouble did not help with the Sparks' lack of available depth. I see her potential- she did a couple of numbers on Reshanda Gray with a quick turnaround for her buckets- but if she can't stay on the floor, she's not going to be any help to Los Angeles. Marina Mabrey drove hard and missed just as hard. I'm not surprised Fisher didn't go back to her in the second half. She was out of control. Karlie Samuelson took threes and hit a pretty big one late in the fourth to help keep the Sparks close.

Such a loss of depth for LA in the backcourt. Losing Parker is a big blow, but losing three guards forced Fisher to do a lot of juggling, and I think he was less prepared to juggle than he was to play without Parker. At least up front you have the Ogwumikes.

Yes, I know she has the assist numbers today, but Sydney Wiese is not a point guard. I don't know what she is other than a shooter, and a very quick one at that. She's certainly not a starter, and she's not the person I want initiating my offense if I have Chelsea Gray available to do that. (Which, to be fair, LA did not have for stretches in the second half when Gray got into foul trouble.) To borrow and abuse a turn of phrase from Shea Serrano, Chelsea Gray was out there ruining my life with big threes and ridiculous steals. She's so good. I was relieved and shocked when that last three was so off line. (And the petty part of me wants to say, "C'mon, you committed a push-off to get that open and that's the best shot you could get off?") Her hands are so quick, and she's so relentless. Physicality isn't necessarily the right word for her game, but she's not afraid to use that big build of hers to create space on offense or make her assignment uncomfortable on defense.

Speaking of making people uncomfortable as a defender, shoutout to Tierra Ruffin-Pratt for doing ridiculously hard work on players much taller than she is and often knocking those shots off line. There were a lot of switches by LA, and she's part of the reason they could get away with it. While I don't necessarily like how quickly Nneka Ogwumike moved into Tina Charles's head today, or how physical she was with Tina at both ends of the floor, I can respect it, more or less. I didn't realize how much of a perimeter game she'd developed until she was hitting threes early on in this one. For most of the first half, it was her, Chelsea Gray, and a bunch of not particularly helpful people. She's so good. I have to respect that. I do not have to respect Chiney Ogwumike's inability to shut up, stop whining, and sit down at appropriate moments. Yes, shockingly, Chiney, if you hit someone it's a foul. You went to Stanford, I know you're smart. Now that she's not on one of my teams, she annoys me too much to write about her.

Someday, Katie Smith will run a five-nation line-up out there, and I will rejoice. You don't even need to trust Han Xu to do it! You need Amanda, Marine, and Bec, plus either Nayo or Kia, plus one of the Americans! Presto, instant United Nations!

(In case you weren't sure I was a giant nerd. Spoilers: I am.)

For the honor and dignity of all Rebeccas out there, Imma need Rebecca Allen to please stop committing stupid unnecessary fouls on defense. She committed two of them pretty much back to back, and it was extremely frustrating. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe played the first half like her hair was on fire (her hair was not actually on fire)- going up strong inside and stepping outside for the trey. She cooled down in the second half. Reshanda Gray pretty much won the game for us. She had a couple of huge rebounds right at the end, and got the steal when LA had it within two. She was relentless. I do still need her to get the foul trouble under control, although in this game much of it had to do with these terrible officials and I place no blame on her getting called for a foul when she was the player getting hit.

So, this was my first look at Marine Johannès in a Liberty uniform, and I like what I saw. She needs to either tone down the fancy passing or she'll get more used to her teammates and more of those too-much-mustard-on-the-hot-dog passes will find their way to their intended recipients and things will get fun again. She gave us a long-range option with style, which is very nice to have, since most of our long-range threats are people I would like to not be volume three-point shooters (hi, Amanda). Maybe this was her best game, and we know no one is ever as good as their best game, but I think I'd be happy with even half of what she produced today, at least early in her tenure here in New York. Brittany Boyd needed a good thwack with the clue-by-four in this game. On one hand, I do sympathize with her getting clocked in the chin by a Chelsea Gray elbow and not having it either called or reviewed. On the other hand, that is no excuse to pull back from the shooter and basically stop playing. That was bush league, and she got pulled out of the game shortly thereafter. She got her head back in the game eventually, after a good long sit on the bench. She had her moments, but there was something missing.

I'm going to need Tina Charles to stop doing her Cappie Pondexter impression now. She's not very good at it and I don't want to see her descend into Cappie's fashion "sense". She took terrible shots early in the shot clock. She shot directly into unnecessary double-teams. She generally forgot about the existence of her teammates in order to take terrible shots. She was not good on defense. She let the Ogwumikes, especially Nneka, have their way with her. I know she's better than this, or at least she has a history of being better than this, but lately I'm starting to wonder if she's approaching the McCray cliff. Amanda Zahui B got off to a hot start offensively, but cooled off quickly and never seemed to recover. She got passed over in the second half by both Nayo and Reshanda, and I think Katie made the right call on both accounts. She's capable of banging, but she doesn't do enough of it to match up well with LA.

On the petty, shallow tip, I don’t like Bria Hartley's new hairdo at all. The gilding doesn't suit her. According to the box score, she lined up at three, but that's a little disingenuous; inasmuch as any of the guards in our three-guard set could be considered a small forward, Kia Nurse is probably the best candidate for the role, and none of them are particularly suited to it. Bria did not look ready to be back in the W after Eurobasket. I think she'll shake it off, but for now she looks bad. Kia looked out of sorts and under a lot of pressure. LA's switches defensively did her no favors. Ladies and gentlemen, your All-Star starter. (For the record, I didn't vote for her. Then again, I didn't vote for anyone.) I'll say this about having Tanisha Wright on the floor: there seemed to be a lot more vocal communication on the floor when she was out there. Even if it highlighted the team's issues with knowing the playbook and people knowing where they needed to be, it showed that at least people were willing to step up and address those issues. She's not a long-term solution at point, but if she can mentor Boyd and Marine, passing the torch without too much of a hiccup, I'll be okay with her sticking around for this year and maybe even next. (But next is a stretch, and honestly at this point I'm hoping that one of the people she'll be mentoring if she is here in 2020 is Sabrina Ionescu.)

Hoo boy, these refs. Love to see two terrible out-of-bounds calls in the first five minutes of the game. There was a lot of physical play, and a lot of the worst of it wasn't called. Credit them for some consistency, though: the sequence where the defensive player gets sandwiched between two offensive players and is called for a foul because... I don't even know... was called on both teams (Bec for us, TRP for them). I think the Sparks have a lot of nerve being upset about the foul differential, with the elbows they were throwing, but some things don't change.

Shockingly, if you give Liberty fans a beat to get the "Let's Go Liberty!" chant going to, we'll get it going. It was announced as a sellout, but there were a lot of empty seats. Something tells me there will always be a lot of empty seats, even if they claim to have sold every ticket. When we had reason to make noise, we made noise.

Look, kid, you already have one t-shirt, stop screaming for another one.

The guy who lost "Don't Get Torched" got screwed. The last shot was clearly after the buzzer.

I'm not expecting our reserves to play like this every game (but on the other hand, I'm not expecting our starters to play like this every game, either). It's great to see them do so, and I love how Marine is settling in with this team.

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July 7th, 2019

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Las Vegas started strong and only got stronger as the game went on, taking out New York 90-58 on the road. Kayla McBride had a team-high 24 points for Las Vegas, with Liz Cambage adding 21 points and 11 rebounds. Tina Charles had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the Liberty.

For the boiling point, misplaced fans, terrible shot selection, and what is this I don't even, join your intrepid and very tired blogger after the jump.

On to the next one! This time it's off to That Dump in White Plains, as the Liberty take on the Las Vegas Aces. I'm getting a weird feeling of déjà vu for some reason.

The Mexican place, El Poblano? Best damn mole I've ever had in my life, and I've had some good mole.

Security was a breeze today. I know we're well over half an hour from tip time, but I'm not liking the emptiness of the seats right now. The crowd filled in well enough later.

Anthem singer: "Microphones? Where we're going, we don't need no stinkin' microphones."

If I find the ticket rep who sold Aces fans seats behind the Liberty bench, we are going to have words, and most of them are going to be unsuitable for children. Most of the section across from the road bench is empty. GO OVER THERE. GO AWAY. GOOOOOOOO.

It's 44-32 Las Vegas at halftime, and it feels like it could have been a lot worse. Our energy is high but unfocused. We appear to have forgotten what defense is, and the existence of our teammates on offense. Too many possessions have involved guards (usually Brittany Boyd, but not always) dribbling for way too long, panicking, and expecting Tina Charles to bail them out with a shot at the end of the shot clock. There are occasional variations in which a post player not named Tina has the ball, but these interludes usually involve someone freaking out.

T-Spoon is on the bench in a "someone is going to die today" suit. It may be a contract hit, it may be an impressionable femme swooning over her, but she looks sharp.

It's probably a bad sign when the team is so disorganized, the chemistry is so AWOL, and the star is so frustrated that I'm pretty sure Tina Charles yelled something to the effect of "DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND!" at her teammates, and that was only in the second quarter. People did not know where they needed to be on the floor- there were way too many occasions where someone was screaming at someone else to set a screen or use a screen. I choose vodka.

The Aces were relentless on defense. When you've got two big erasers on the inside like A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage, you can afford to take more risks on the perimeter, and Las Vegas did so very effectively. They swarmed us, and we were not ready for the pressure. Offensively, both halves of the inside-out equation were working, which meant we were screwed either way we tried to defend. Ultimately it meant that we didn't, period.

I'm assuming Carolyn Swords's knee or something is acting up, which is why she came in so late into garbage time. She had good pursuit on the ball in her limited minutes. I love JiSu Park's energy on defense. Her shot needs work, but her nose for the ball is good and she works hard on the floor. She's got so much potential, and as a WNBA fan I look forward to seeing her develop. (So don't screw this up, Bill.) Dearica Hamby also brings a lot of energy, although hers was a little less effectively focused. She did have a nifty defensive stop on Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe that I think ended up as a Liberty turnover. She's chippy. She's got one of the best to learn from in that regard on the bench.

Sugar Rodgers got a decent hand when she came into the game, and showed her sweet stroke (though mostly from the midrange instead of beyond the arc). I'm still not sure how we managed to leave her open at any point. I mean, most of y'all have met Sugar, right? You know who she is and what she does? Y U NO GUARD JUMP SHOOTER? *insert meme here* I keep forgetting about Sydney Colson's vertical until she does something ridiculous like drop the hammer on a post player's shot. She did that to Avery Warley-Talbert, and I was embarrassed for Avery's sake. She's not necessarily flexible positionally, but she allows other players to flow into other roles when she comes into the game. Tamera Young is good at annoying people, including me. It's been 11 years and I'm still not used to her having a jump shot that remotely approaches reliable. She had one pretty one that she kissed off the glass, which I remember mostly because I was yelling at the rim for letting Aces shots through. (I recognize this is irrational, but when the game is happening, I am always irrational.)

I have taken a profound dislike to Kayla McBride. It's mostly the respectful kind that comes from a player ruining my life, but there are also moments when it's because she's not afraid to give a little shove or engage in some holding. She gets open, and the shot goes up, and it goes in, and the world keeps turning because that's one of the universal constants. Kelsey Plum's shot wasn't falling, but she was tenacious on defense, often to a fault (yes, Kelsey, I saw where your hand was on that Boyd drive; I hate to break the news to you, but I don't think you're her type). Neither she nor Jackie Young really seems to fit as the point guard for this squad. It's like hammering a square peg into a round hole- it doesn't fit, and if you do manage to get it in, it'll lose its edge. It's a good thing Las Vegas has players who can create their own offense, because no one's really going to initiate it.

Speaking of which, dear Lord is Liz Cambage unstoppable when she wants to be. She goes in the paint, and she puts her hand up, and she gets the ball, and she hits the shot. It's just that simple. She creates space, or she finishes through contact, and she hits the shot. She's big, and she's strong, and sometimes I think she would not object to ripping someone's heart out and raising it above her head in triumph (except that it might ruin her nail polish). A'ja Wilson had a monster block on Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe that I felt the pain of in my soul. She had more trouble finishing at the rim than Cambage did, but she had plenty of looks and hit her fair share of them. She's so long and so smooth with it.

Vegas has a lot of good pieces- but I'm not sure how they all fit together. When McBride and Cambage are both on fire, it sort of papers over the questions in the backcourt and the lack of guard depth.

Our bench is going to look so different after everyone finally meanders back from Eurobasket. I have to remember this. We have four players either returning or debuting. That's going to shuffle things around. I have to remember this.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe looked scared out there. She was careless with the ball, she didn't go hard, and she generally looked like she was pressing too hard and not getting any results from it. I think she knows she's on the chopping block, and I think she might just be okay with it. Avery Warley-Talbert worked hard, but she was a hair slow, a step short. She should have hit the shots she had at the basket- they were close in, and she was often unguarded. She showed both the reasons why she'll always be in camp and the reasons why she'll usually be the last cut or a regular temp. Han Xu got extended time in the fourth quarter, much to the joy of the crowd- she got a ridiculous hand when she came in. I don't know if it's because she's now a folk hero, or if people just want to see her do well because she's so adorably naïve, but the roar when she scored her first basket, and when she hit the three the place went nuts. She looked a little more awkward out there than she did in the preseason, but she was far from the only Liberty player to not know where she was supposed to be on the court.

Tanisha Wright started the second half and I don't know why. (The postgame tweet congratulating her on moving up the all-time assists list provides a possible reason, but a terrible one.) She's doing better running the offense than Brittany Boyd, but both of them are offensive liabilities. Tanisha repeatedly passed up open looks I know she would have taken a couple of years ago. She's a safe pick for now, or at least a safer one than Boyd, but we should not be thinking so heavily in the short-term. Tiffany Bias is adorable, but it's abundantly clear that she was just a temp. And I have no idea why she and Boyd would ever be out on the floor together; inasmuch as Tiffany has a position, it's point guard, and Boyd at off guard is a terrible, terrible idea. (Generally, shooting guards should both be willing and able to shoot.)

I guess this flows into the general sense of "WTF, Brittany" that has hovered around Brittany Boyd this season. I feel like she's hit a wall, and I don't know if it's one she can't climb or one she's decided she doesn't have to climb even though it's clearly in her way. Her passing was careless and often right to a Vegas player, and she wasn't finishing at the rim. Unless she gets her shot together and relearns some passing discernment, she's hit her ceiling so hard that she bounced off on the way back down. I want to see her do well, and when she's on she's amazing to watch. It's just that she's been off more and more often as time has gone on. Kia Nurse's shot was off, although it was often contested (it's like she's good and defenses are learning to key on her or something). What bothered me more, to be honest, was that her defense was flat-out terrible. I'm not used to her being a bad defender, but she was getting blown by and left behind by pretty much everyone she tried to defend. Asia Durr had a couple of big blocks, which surprised me. I'd have liked to see her looking for her shot a little more.

Reshanda Gray got into early foul trouble, which not only limited her effectiveness, it forced us to go to our bench, which...um... was even less of a good thing than it tends to be. When she can't be physical against taller opponents, she's up a creek without a paddle, and this goes double when it's the dual threat of Wilson and Cambage. Tina Charles took bad shots, but she was getting pounded inside, so I don't know if I blame her for retreating to the perimeter. And a lot of those shots were at the end of the shot clock, when she was the human equivalent of the panic button. But Tina's ones of the best post players in the world, or at least she used to be. I'd like to see a little more of that. I know I sound like a broken record in that regard, and that it's never going to change, and that it's going to get worse as she gets older. Let me gripe about getting these kids off my lawn, okay?

If we don't have a point guard worth her salt, we have a problem, because this offense needs directing. We don't really have anyone who can consistently create her own offense (Asia's the closest, but consistency is the key word in her case; she's a rookie and I'm not going to throw full responsibility for the offense on a rookie.) Maybe Bria's return from Eurobasket will be the answer. Maybe Marine Johannès will slot so smoothly into that role that we'll forget we never had a point guard. Maybe Boyd will have a revelation. I don't know.

The game got very physical, and there were plays I was amazed weren't called fouls. (I mean, really, Plum had a whole handful of Boyd's posterior. Rude.) But we knew this crew was working back-to-back, because we'd seen the game at Connecticut the day before. So I can't say I'm surprised.

Liberty fans are trying to get behind this team, we really are. But the squad's not making it easy. (On the other hand, being in the lottery wouldn't be a terrible thing.)

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June 9th, 2019: Las Vegas at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Defense and a balanced attack powered the New York Liberty to their first win of 2019 as they defeated the Las Vegas Aces 88-78. Tina Charles had 21 points to lead the Liberty, with Bria Hartley chipping in 17 points and six assists and Kia Nurse adding 15 points. Kayla McBride led all scorers with 25 points, and Liz Cambage had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

For physical play, endangered point guards, a rousing return, and getting off the schneid, join your intrepid and hectic blogger after the jump.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends; it's game day at That Dump in Westchester, as the New York Liberty take on the Las Vegas Aces. Your intrepid blogger is going the long way around today, because I don't feel like dealing with Metro-North, Metro-North fares, and things potentially being on fire. Things being on fire is not fun unless they are shooters.

Just for the record, if Liz Cambage wants to express her opinion of That Dump in a public setting, I volunteer to hand her a mic.

Since the entire Aces coaching staff was at the game on Friday, I assume we have been fully scouted and will therefore be obliterated in a logical and well-executed fashion. And then we lose players to Eurobasket. I'm not even there yet and I'm already too tired for this.

I hate This Dump. I hate the ever more asinine security procedures we go through. Now they have to look at your keys just in case you're carrying a weapon on them. First of all, WTF, this is new. Second of all, the odds are that any weapon on a set of keys is being carried by a woman in self-defense, which, if you are trying to take that from someone at a Liberty game, that's not going to end well. Third of all, any Girl Scout worth her salt- which there should be plenty of on Scout Day- knows that the keys themselves are a weapon three different ways, so either you have to confiscate the keys or abandon this whole security theater nonsense.

(Also, do not touch my wallet. It is in my bag for a reason. Do not touch my wallet.)

(Also, do not gaslight me into thinking I touched the sides of the metal detector when I know damn well my fat ass didn't.)

Honestly, I'm already ready to fight someone and Vegas hasn't even taken the floor.

We're not losing. I am extremely confused by this. It's 45-37 Liberty at the half. Tina Charles has 12 points to lead New York, but it's been a really balanced effort. Bria Hartley got the start in place of Asia Durr, who looks like she'd really rather be at home in bed with a fuzzy blanket and a mug of chicken soup. Vegas has 10 points each from Liz Cambage and Kayla McBride, but Cambage looks really frustrated about it.

Our halftime entertainment is a martial arts presentation that has not been terribly spectacular except for occasional flying pieces of wood.

We're still having a lot of moments where the offense is more improvisational than structured, but it's mostly working. I anticipate the Aces adjusting, because we're not a second half team right now.

My heart goes out to Sydney Colson and getting her head busted open when Bria sat on her. Get better soon, Syd!

Between the sneakers and the short-sleeved top, Spoon looks ready to suit up in case of emergency lack of point guard. Don't tempt Bill, Teresa.

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting to get the win against Las Vegas's size and skill. But while they have an imposing front line, possibly the most imposing front line in the league (except maybe Los Angeles), their backcourt can be streaky and their bench does not seem consistent. And if Colson is out for any length of time, they're in for some interesting juggling of their rotation.

I was honestly surprised that Carolyn Swords and JiSu Park got so few minutes. Swords is pretty solid, and Park showed a lot of potential last year. I guess Dearica Hamby's emergence in the early part of the season has put the kibosh on that, and Park certainly looks less confident than she did last year. Hamby was in foul trouble for much of the game, which somewhat limited her effectiveness; she was like a pinball out there for stretches, and I was surprised that Laimbeer kept her on the floor with five fouls late in the game.

Sugar Rodgers got an enormous cheer from the crowd the first time she checked into the game, and then she reminded us why some of us were perfectly okay with letting her go by throwing the ball out of bounds. She does have a pretty shot, but she's streaky. We know this. Tamera Young hit a three-pointer, and for a moment I wondered what timeline I had managed to wander into. I guess she came in for her defense? Ugh, I feel so embarrassingly naked without a scorecard, even an improvised one (my printer decided it didn't like my ink cartridge). Sydney Colson has nice speed, and heaven knows Vegas needs a ballhandler off the bench, so I hope she and her face are all right.

Jackie Young has an incredible first step. Once she gets the hang of how to finish with it, she's going to be amazing. But it seems like she's trying to make shots that she could get against college defenses, not having yet adjusted to the fact that professional defenses are usually bigger, faster, and more physical. That's part of the rookie learning curve, and I get that. She's going to be fine (though I think she could have used another year in college) and she's going to be the kind of player who sticks around because she can do a little bit of everything well- she was picking up a lot of our long rebounds that bounced strangely off ill-advised jumpers. Kelsey Plum seems to need a lot more time to wind up on her jumper than I remember her needing once upon a time. Maybe it was our defense, or maybe she was having a bad day, but she just didn't seem to fit in whatever Las Vegas was trying to run. I don't know if she can co-exist with two ball-dominant inside presences like Wilson and Cambage; I don't know if she really knows how to.

Kayla McBride gets buckets, whether they're inside on strength or outside on jumpers. I have to admire her toughness, I guess. She killed us on our endless switches, because no one on the team seemed to know how to defend her. I don't know if we could have done it even if we did, but that's a whole other story. She kept the Aces in the game most of the day. A'ja Wilson got a lot of hard looks and took a lot of contested shots. I don't know if she really needed to take some of them. She and Tina Charles were going at it hammer and tongs most of the day, throwing shoulders and hips into each other on every possession on both sides of the floor. I don't know if Tina was in her head, or if the general physicality of the game was just getting to her, but she took a lot of bad shots. It's not like we gave her good shots to take, but she didn't show the discernment not to take the bad ones that stretched her out like she thought she was Reed Richards or Helen Parr. She didn't have the angles. Liz Cambage did well when she got away from the basket, which seems counterintuitive given her height advantage over everyone who played for the Liberty, but when she got the midrange shot going, she was able to elevate over her defenders, while smaller but stockier defenders were able to leverage their size to move her. I don't know if she's slimmed down, or if her Achilles issue is making it harder for her to plant, but she was getting moved around a lot by our defense in ways that I was not expecting.

I don't know if Las Vegas has the personnel to do the things that they want to do right now. It's like they have two different teams, the backcourt-oriented one and the frontcourt-oriented one, and Bill hasn't figured out how to mesh them all together yet. McBride seems to be the only one who knows how to shift between the two systems.

Poor Asia. She did not look okay. I would like to see some more minutes for our deep bench, especially when the game is decided, but on the other hand, it's become clear that Nayo and Tiffany are nothing but placeholders for Kiah and Marine, there to be extra bodies and provide some enthusiasm (at least in Tiffany's case; Nayo mostly seems like she'd like to return to Canada already).

Great rebounding work and physical defense from Reshanda Gray in this one. She got low on Cambage and made her work. I would have liked to have seen more consistent finishing at the rim from her, but I will most definitely take the screens, the rebounding, and the defense (there was one screen she had on a drive by... I think Tanisha?... that was glorious and perfect). She's really made the most of this chance with New York, and I think it's affected our roster choices. I'd a million times rather have her energy than the lack of it Nayo's shown so far this year, and I don't think that was the original plan. Rebecca Allen continues to exist in a liminal space between the frontcourt and the backcourt- her offense has been almost all perimeter-oriented, but she does a lot of her work on the other side of the floor crashing the glass. It gives us flexibility, but it also leads to mismatches. Fortunately, the dark necromantic ritual that powers Tanisha Wright here at the end of her career was at its peak, and she had her best game of the season. The offense was clicking with her in the game, her defensive instincts were on point, and she looked (mostly) like the heady veteran presence she was supposed to be for us. I like this version of Tanisha. Okay, I maybe don't like the version that throws passes into the crowd, but other than that I was thrilled with her play.

And that was our bench. I can't really say I'm surprised, except for Katie's utter lack of trust in Han Xu.

On one hand, Brittany Boyd actually showcased a perimeter game in the second half. On the other hand, the mechanics of her jumper still need a lot of work, which is not a good thing for a player in her fifth professional season, and she committed some incredibly stupid mistakes on the floor. (I mean, really. Inbounding violation? I expect better.) It was clear that she was the third best point guard for the Liberty in this game, because Tanisha was playing well and Bria Hartley was playing really well. So that's a thing I don't know how to feel about. According to the starting lineup and the box score, Bria started at small forward, but she spent most of her time running point, even when Boyd was in the game, which left Boyd hung out to dry. Bria played really well- she hit her shots at the right time, and the offense just seemed to click when she was in the game. I thought there were stretches where she was trying to do too much and the offense became one-dimensional, but that's not a problem unique to her, so I'm going to throw that on Katie. Kia Nurse also seemed to be forcing shots. She's presenting herself as a solid second scoring option, but I don't know if she's doing it in the flow of the offense. Then again, I don't know if our offense has a flow to be in, so that's a problem. I honestly don't know what to think of her sometimes.

Amanda Zahui B is not necessarily great when it comes to rotating on defense, but once she was on her man, she was a star. She made Cambage work and got some good blocks in on the inside. I am not enthralled by her love for the three-pointer, especially when it's not going down, but I love the work she put in defensively. That's been one of the things Liberty fans have been riding her about for quite some time, so if she's making strides in that department, more power to her. (Also, really, Vegas, you should know better. You don't mess with the hair.) Tina Charles continues to be doubled and tripled, and continues to try and shoot through it. Her teammates did a better job of making themselves available on the kick out, but Tina's still trying to do too much offensively, and that's a habit she has to break. She's got talent around her- she and they just need to be aware of it and trust in it. This was probably the most physical game we've seen from her all year, and I don't know if that was Katie's game plan, Bill's game plan, or a natural cause and effect of her going at it with Wilson. But she was going hard on the glass and spending a lot more time in the paint than she has been most of the year.

There was so much motion in this game! And it was a good thing! For the first time this year, the offense was moving, both in terms of pace and in terms of people not just standing around waiting for things to happen. It was a refreshing change. I mean, yes, there were still times when whoever had the ball forgot that she had teammates and tried to go it alone, but there were fewer of them than there were in the last few games. Maybe we're turning a corner. I wouldn't place money on it, but anything can happen.

There was a lot of physical play on both sides. Bria should probably stop sitting on people. Conversely, the crew was like "LOL what even are travels". I think one of the officials had family over in the next section- either that, or someone was heckling her particularly hard and she wanted security to know about them. It wasn't us, I swear.

We've still got deep-seated issues. But this game showed what we can be if we get our act together and play to our potential. We have enough talent to compete; when we put in the extra work, it puts us over the top.

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May 24th, 2019: Indiana at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Teaira McCowan's buzzer-beating lay-up was the game-winner for Indiana in their season-opening 81-80 win over the New York Liberty. Tiffany Mitchell exploded for 22 points off the bench to lead the Fever, with Erica Wheeler adding 16 points and five assists. Tina Charles led New York with 32 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

For pop quizzes, train traffic ahead of us, literal and metaphorical flaming disasters, snazzy jerseys, numerical issues, and banging my head against the desk, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Content warning: there is a cluster F-bomb in here. I was in a mood last night.

This is not a drill. This is a game day. Your intrepid blogger was going to skip this game, like so many other weeknight games up at That Dump, but two things happened. One, I started working from home, which at least lets me start out in civilization instead of suburbia. Two, the start time got pushed to 8 for TV. This is going to make the turnaround to the Sun opener tighter and somewhat more sleep-deprived, but I have Diet Coke. I WILL NOT BE DETERRED. I haven't missed a Liberty home opener yet. It will happen.

Because it's a game day, I really didn't bat an eyelash at the sound of the drumline behind me as I headed to the train, but the two guys staring behind me made me realize that it was live, and also in the middle of Jamaica Avenue, which I can assure is not normal. Well, at this time of day on this particular stretch, in any case. The Ave contains multitudes. But it was like, of course there's a drumline. It's a game day.

Holy Mary, Blessed Mother of Jesus. I got on a train at Grand Central at 6:11. Not only did the door jam on that train, but it turns out there was someone on the tracks at Wakefield and also things were on fire. We barely made tip-off. It's not supposed to take that long via Metro-North. I loathe Westchester. (With all due respect to Shadeen. And Bird Gordon. And anyone else I respect who has reason to take pride in Westchester.)

There was a disorganized shambles at Will Call, but fortunately that was a trainwreck I did not get caught up in.

I forgot how much I dislike the small, slippery, railing-free stairs at That Dump, and the constant feeling I have that I'm going to fall and crack my skull open. I forgot how much I hated the obscured views, and the fact that our last ticket rep put us on the wrong side of the floor so I can't see the bench or who's checking in at the scorer's table. I forgot how uncomfortable the lack of leg room got after a while, or how little space there is to maneuver. Y'all wonder why I call it That Dump, right? Or were y'all not wondering?

The new entrance video is excellent. The song's okay, I guess. It hits all the notes it's supposed to hit.

The new court looks amazing. The NY inlay at center court is so subtle I didn't see it until the lights came up.

There need to be numbers on the front of the uniforms, but I love the black jerseys. The two-tone green doesn't work, but the one-tone black does.

We got off to a torrid start and then fell apart, exacerbated by the fact that Captain Genius Katie decided that the time to rest Tina Charles was right when we lost the lead, instead of when she was missing shots short. I am so done with Tanisha Wright and I am so done with Bria Hartley.

It's 39-33 Fever at the half. Tina Charles has 16 of the 33. Kia Nurse has another 10. I think we might have a balance problem. Erica Wheeler has 11 to lead Indiana. Teaira McCowan is a whole lot of woman.

There is a very large rooting contingent for Shenise Johnson, with (paper) heads on sticks, and a couple of Tiffany Mitchell fans too. And there are Rutgers fans rooting for Wheeler and Laney (where were you guys when we had her?)

Please bear in mind that I try not to swear in the game notes. There are children here. There are ladies here, though I ain't no lady, I'm a broad. But oh my God, FUCK WESTCHESTER. Fuck this stupid place forever. Fuck That Dump and fuck Metro-North and fuck the punk kids throwing ice and fuck the suburban emptiness around the station and fuck the narrow seats and fuck the lack of leg room and fuck that it's a Pepsi joint and fuck the illogical security lines and just. Fuck Westchester.

So, game talk. I can totally do this! I have another twenty minutes before the train shows up! Because there are two trains at the top of every hour and then an hour break! Because fuck Westchester!

Stephanie Mavunga got a little bit of run in the second quarter, but she was slow on rotations and picked up two quick fouls, so she didn't get second half run. It also did not help her case that Teaira McCowan feasted on our undersized posts (although, to be fair, compared to McCowan, isn't everyone undersized?) That is a whole lot of woman, and I mean that in a complimentary fashion. She still needs to add a little finesse to her game, but she has the power, and she knows how to use her size. A lot of tall players are just tall, but she seems comfortable with it. Smaller players, and players who are not themselves small, bent beneath her. She might have trouble staying in for long stretches, and it's clear officials don't know how to handle a player who is both markedly taller than average and built like a brick house. Fouls happen around her. I think she might have blocked a shot by accident, just being there with her arms up.

Have we considered the possibility of guarding Tiffany Mitchell? Because that is maybe a thing we should consider the possibility of doing when next we tango with Indiana. She was very effective getting to the rack and sliding around the defense to take just enough contact to get to the line. She also has ridiculous bicep definition. I am in awe. I'm also glad she went with the blonde tips, and that she and Kelsey Mitchell were almost never on the floor at the same time, because same last name and half the numeric visibility is not a good combination. Shenise Johnson got rebounds to please her fan club, and made a really nifty defensive play that I'm not sure counted as a steal or not because New York almost immediately regained possession. I'm also pretty sure her fan club jinxed her shot by their ill manners, so I suppose there's some kind of silver lining there.

We seemed awfully happy to give up the midrange and elbow jumper to Natalie Achonwa. She seemed awfully happy to take those shots. She's very loud on the court. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, except in the sense that opponents doing good things annoys me. Her hands were good defensively in the paint with deflections. Candice Dupree continues to be quite smooth, and also very vocal on the court. There were times when she was a step slow, when her defense couldn't rotate and she gave up buckets, but she got them back just as quickly on Tina Charles. Betnijah Laney couldn't buy a basket for most of the game (she had one spin all the way in and out) but she made a lot of hustle plays, which I'm pretty sure might actually be part of her name. She had one really cool sequence where she corralled a loose ball without ever losing her dribble yet spinning like an acrobat. That play led to a Kelsey Mitchell basket. She came up with clutch offensive rebounds. I don't know if she should be starting in this league, but she most certainly belongs.

Erica Wheeler decided this would be a lovely night to get her revenge on the Liberty with threes in the fourth quarter to answer any attempt we made at maintaining a run. It got a bit annoying after a while. I am easily annoyed right now, TBH. Quiet game for Kelsey Mitchell, but with the work Tiffany Mitchell was doing to get to the line and to make hustle plays on both ends of the floor, she didn't have to be super scorer Mitchell.

There were flashes of the old Indiana ball movement, which I guess was sort of cool if you're into that kind of thing. Indiana's midrange game was pretty solid and they came up with the rebounds they needed. Once McCowan really adjusts to the pro game, they'll have an absolutely ridiculous low post game.

So... is this how Katie's going to develop Han Xu? Not play her except in case of emergency and never test her against anyone who's in her size range? I'm not a fan of this plan. We're never going to know what Xu can do if she doesn't go up against players similar to her in height. (I mean, okay, McCowan is of an extremely dissimilar build and our poor teenager would probably get broken. But you never know if you don't try!) Reshanda Gray was probably the biggest reason we got back into the game after choking away the lead in the second quarter. She was relentless on the glass and finished well at the rim on her putbacks. She did not draw an easy task, and she answered the call. Huge game for her, and if she keeps playing like this she's going to spend the rest of the season in New York. On the other hand, I had been looking forward to the return of Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, only to see her essentially mail in her first half performance enough that she did not make an encore appearance. It was bad. Lackadaisical might be the right word. If she's still recovering from her overseas stint, I guess that's a thing, but then, she didn't exactly have to show up, either.

I honestly don't know what to think of Tanisha Wright wearing the playbook on her wrist. In my more cynical and embittered moments, I suppose it means I should be grateful at least someone on this team knows the plays, since I'm not completely certain Katie does. There just seem to be too many stupid things happening on the floor when Tanisha is in the game, and I have a problem with this when she's a veteran player who should know better and should be teaching her teammates better. What did you think was going to happen when you ran headlong into Natalie Achonwa, T? I mean. Physics, how do they work? (The answer was that Tanisha bounced like a rubber ball off the schoolhouse wall.) Bria Hartley came up with some big offensive plays in the fourth quarter, but I'm still not sure why we held out so long to make sure we kept her. Asia Durr looks like she's at least trying on defense, even if she's failing miserably at times in that regard- she had a brilliant block on Tiffany Mitchell, then got called for a foul when trying to make the same play from a different angle shortly thereafter. She's more confident in her shot than she was during the preseason, and even if it's not going down right now I'd rather have her shooting than not shooting. We tried to run the Jewelly-oop with her, and it almost worked. By the end of the season, it just might, and that will be really cool.

Brittany Boyd did a little too much dribbling, but otherwise did not have a terrible game. I'm not sure what it says about her, or us, or Katie, that Bria was playing the clutch minutes, though. Kia Nurse looked like she was forcing a lot of her shots in the early action and really looked like she was trying to make herself an offensive option by sheer force of will. If it had worked, I probably would have appreciated it more. She knows what she has to do and who she has to become for this team to be successful, but I don't know if she knows how to get there, and I don't trust Katie to get her there. Rebecca Allen continues to be the most frustrating Rebecca, and I say this as a Rebecca. She had a couple of big threes and a couple of big blocks, but her ability to move to the next position on defense was sorely lacking, and I'm pretty sure Tiffany Mitchell snatched her soul out of her body on a head fake sometime in the second half. Figure out who you are already, Bec!

Tina Charles continues to do Tina Charles things. You get the feeling sometimes that she's just So Very Tired of having to do everything around here, like she and deGrom and Syndergaard should go out drinking together and comparing notes on having to be The Man. (in the pre-Becky Lynch sense) I'm worried about her missing shots short early, but she found a second wind in the fourth quarter and took the team on her shoulders. She decided that McCowan and Dupree weren't going to stop her, and they really didn't. I don't know what else we can ask of her. I don't know what else we should ask of her. On the other hand, I'm going to need Amanda Zahui B to do... something. Literally something. She missed shots she should have hit. Calling her a turnstile on defense would have still implied that she was present and that there was a cost to get through. She actually got out of the way of a pass at one point, which led to an over-and-back violation and a glare from (I think) Tanisha. She played like she knew she was already getting her money, so why should she bother doing anything for it? I know she can do better. I know she can be better. I certainly am not accusing her of having the attitude of Tamika Whitmore, but the "I have guaranteed money and therefore I can fail" thing is a disturbing parallel that I don't particularly want to draw.

Our defensive communication needs a lot of work. I don't hear us out there the way I hear other teams. Y'all are allowed to talk to each other. Especially when there are multiple players on the floor who generally have no idea what they're doing on defense, communication is key.

So we're going to talk about endgame execution 101. After an extended sequence of offensive rebounds and missed shots, Indiana had the ball and a one-point lead with less than 24 seconds left. What do you do in that situation?

A) foul immediately to have as much time as possible on the clock for the next possession
B) press like hell in the backcourt to try and get a turnover, then foul
C) let the opposing team bring the ball up unopposed and let them run off almost seven seconds out of twenty before your star player goes to the ball and fouls

If you answered C), congratulations, you're Katie Smith and the New York Liberty, and you are part of the reason why I would drink if I drank.

That's extremely on the coaching staff, but that's also on the players on the floor. I'll give Tina a pass, because she's the one who actually took the foul. I'll give Amanda a pass, because she had five fouls. But the other three players on the floor? The coaches? No one looked at time, score, and possession? Really? On a professional basketball team? This is a thing that happens?

Second pop quiz time! I know, it's summer, you thought you were free of pop quizzes, but here we are.

You have two post players, both alike in dignity, in fucking Westchester where we lay our scene. One post player is scoreless with five fouls and five turnovers. One post player has done hard work on the offensive rebounds and helped power the run that gets your team back in the game. It's time to put your superstar post player back into the game. Who do you sub her in for?

A) The scoreless player with five fouls and the defensive prowess of an old-fashioned turnstile (the high-wheel ones are arguably better defenders)
B) The player who has powered your team back into the game

If you answered B), you're still Katie Smith, and while I appreciate you reading my blog, you have better and more important things to do. Like figuring out how to coach.

I don't understand Katie's sub patterns. I don't understand her play-calling. I don't understand her personnel management. Is this some galaxy-brain level nonsense that I'm too basic to understand?

Officials mostly let them play. Not a good thing. Not a bad thing. A thing.

We had to pick up our rally towels at the end of the game instead of the beginning. Not the worst thing in the world, all things considered.

Seriously, though, please don't express your opinion of the buzzer-beater by throwing ice towards the court, or by acting offended that people think you threw it because it's coming from that trajectory.

I think I would be okay with being terrible this season if I saw signs that we might not be terrible. And there are some. I think Asia can develop. I think Kia can become a viable offensive option. I do think Boyd can be a good point guard for us. But I don't know if we have the personnel behind the bench to make these things happen.

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May 14th, 2019: Liberty at Dream (at Mohegan Sun)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Atlanta got off to a slow start, but kicked it up a notch in the fourth quarter to come away with the 92-87 preseason win over New York at Mohegan Sun Arena. Nia Coffey had 18 points off the bench to lead four Dream players in double figures. Amanda Zahui B had 20 points in the loss for New York.

For defensive collapses, the occasional dance move, improving in some areas, distractions via shopping, and wondering what the future holds, join your intrepid and delayed blogger after the jump.

The sky is green, the trees are gray... wait, no, got that the wrong way around. It is, once more, game day, and your intrepid blogger is, once more, on a casino bus to watch all the basketball and then fall over. We're currently... uh, somewhere. I think we're in Westchester right now? Since we're not stopping, I'm okay with that.

It's construction season on I-95. May all the gods have mercy upon our collective souls.

I apologize in advance, because these notes are going to have a hard time focusing on the game. Between the amazing history on display during the tag sale and the news that there will be Panini cards this year with original Pinnacle cards as inserts, I'm on a nostalgia kick and the squee is real. Wins and losses don't matter as much, especially in the preseason, when you come home with a unique and meaningful piece of memorabilia.

We definitely looked better in this game than we did against Connecticut, and given that Tina Charles DNP'd the entire second half, I don't think Katie was concerned about the results. Some of the issues I was worried about against Connecticut seemed resolved; others not so much.

Kelly Faris played one sequence; I think she might have been coming in for someone in foul trouble on a quick switch. Megan Huff didn't see time until the second half and made some bad mistakes. Bianca Cuevas-Moore played much of the crunch time in the final minutes, and I was not okay with this. I don't see her making this roster. I really don't see her working out at all.

At least this time Asia Durr was getting shots and taking shots. She was missing them, and they were shots she should be hitting, But the aggression was there that we need to see from her. I wish I could say that of more of the reserves, but here we are. Xu Han looked very tentative, and she was getting her lunch eaten by Imani McGee-Stafford (who is not a good match-up for her, being both nearly as tall and a good bit stronger). Her run was unsuccessful but still needed to be longer because we still need to know what we're getting out of her. At least this time when Tanisha Wright took the stupid floater it was before the shot clock expired and it actually hit the rim. She looked better than she did in the first two games, but I still don't see how she helps us in the long run. Reshanda Gray kept committing fouls, and while I appreciate her physicality, she doesn't know how to tone it down, and if she hasn't learned how to tone it down in however many years she's had to try, it's not going to happen. Avery Warley-Talbert did a lot of good stuff on the offensive glass. She never gave up fighting. And I love what Tiffany Bias showed as the back-up point guard. I don't know if she'll stick on the roster when Bria Hartley comes back at some indeterminate point, but she's proven her bonafides, as far as I'm concerned. She gave good effort on defense and hit corner threes on offense.

Tina Charles did good work on the glass, but didn't play much, and didn't play at all in the second half. Probably the right approach, given that this is the preseason and the points don't matter. We know who Tina is and what she can do. Amanda Zahui B started the game like a firecracker, and her offense was definitely impreoved, but she was still a trainwreck on defense. She rotates slowly and despite her own propensity for taking outside shot seems unaware that other post players like to do that too. Amanda, pls.

Kia Nurse was off her game defensively in this one. I was surprised, given that that's usually one of her strengths. It felt like she was forcing a lot on offense, which is both bad because it's being forced and good because she's out here actually trying to be an offensive factor, which we need out of her. Brittany Boyd was more aggressive as a shooter than I'm used to seeing from her, with mixed results. Rebecca Allen got into early foul trouble, which limited her effectiveness. I questioned some of the calls, but she was a little slow on rotations. I can't say I'm surprised, both because I know that's not her strength and because she played heavy minutes the previous game.

We got out to a way better start than we did in the first game, but we couldn't close. Since we were trying to close with our deep bench, I'm not exactly surprised by this.

At this point, notes on Atlanta (and on Dallas in the other game) are going to be sort of an amalgam of the two games. My brain is all squishy and I really don't care about either of these teams even on a good day.

Meme Jackson probably did not do herself any favors missing the two free throws late in the game that would have iced it a little earlier for the Dream. I don't see her time in Atlanta lasting too much longer. Blake Dietrick didn't play in the first half and then started the second half. She runs a solid point. I think she'll beat out Maite Cazorla, though. She knows the system better and I think she gives them more of what they need. They both got a lot of second-half run, and there's a chance they could both stick, but I think there are too many guards in front of them for Atlanta to keep them both. Tiffany Hayes really needs to skip the drama and stick to the drives. She's so good at what she does that it's insulting for her to resort to histrionics to get her way with the officials.

Whether it's intentional, situational, or otherwise, Imani McGee-Stafford spent two days with an expression of "I don't think I know what's happening, but I don't think I like it" on her face. She says she's gotten stronger, but I don't know if I believe it from what I saw on the floor. She looked like the same slightly tentative player who is inexplicably way too far away from the basket much of the time and doesn't set strong enough screens. Monique Billings did a lot of work in the paint with rebounds and on the perimeter with screens. She set a lot of screens. Her free throw release is a shooter's nightmare, and someone needs to work with her on it as soon as possible. It might have been working for her in college, but it's not so far this year. Nia Coffey played like her hair was on fire in the third quarter, going hard to the basket for buckets and then hitting threes when they were least expected. I was not expecting the third quarter to turn into a duel between Nia Coffey and Avery Warley-Talbert, but these are the kinds of strange things that happen in the preseason. Lynetta Kizer barely played in the first half, if she did at all, and then started the second half. She's tough, but there was something missing in her performance. Unless her only job is to take fouls, her performance did not impress.

I am starting to take a genuine dislike to Alex Bentley, and not the "I respect you, now please stop hitting shots on my team" kind of dislike. It's little things like her constant attempts to disconcert the shooter at the free throw line and big things like the attitude she hauls around with her. Who hurt you, Alex? Her shot was not falling in this game, and I get the feeling that's the way things are going to go for Atlanta sometimes. You rely so heavily on guards and a perimeter game, you're going to get burned as often as you burn someone else. Renee Montgomery certainly brings a lot of energy, both on and off the court, which is a good thing but can also be annoying when she's up off the bench yelling more than the coach is when she's not in the game. I have no idea how Brittney Sykes has this kind of lateral and vertical with her history of knee injuries. Forget DeLisha Milton-Jones's magic cheese, I want what she's having. She had no right beating Amanda on that jump ball.

It always seems like Jessica Breland does more good stuff than shows up in the box score, and I'm at a loss for words to describe it. She just fills in the gaps that are left when Atlanta goes so heavily perimeter/drive oriented and forgets about height and fun stuff like that. That's a lot to put on one player, but she handles it really well, though she handled it less well in this game than in the Dallas game. Marie Gülich did well in the middle, though she didn't have the same level of success that she had against Dallas. She missed a lot more easy shots in that game, but overall she really looks like she's found her niche in Atlanta as she had not in Phoenix.

If Atlanta's perimeter game is on, and their driving lanes are clear, they're unstoppable, as they were against Dallas. But if they go cold from the field, and the defense starts to collapse on them inside, and suddenly they don't have an interior presence they can get out of trouble with, then they're vulnerable.

Atlanta has a lot of energy. I imagine it's easy to love them for it. I imagine it's easy to dislike them for it too. I'm somewhere in the middle.

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