Liberty vs. Dream: New York Takes On Former Legend
In the latest stages of their Commissioner's Cup defense, the New York Liberty are going to an old friend's new place for dinner.
The Liberty face Tina Charles for the first time since making her WNBA comeback on Thursday night as another CC tilt awaits against the Atlanta Dream. It's the middle stage of both the five-game CC slate and a three-game road trip that ends in Connecticut on Saturday.
New York is taking a four-game road trip down south, having previously taken an 88-75 decision in Chicago on Tuesday night. The visit to the Windy City featured Breanna Stewart's finest offensive performance of the season, as the reigning WNBA MVP put up a 33-point, 14-rebound double-double. Sabrina Ionescu also had 24 points and tied a Liberty franchise record for most consecutive games with at least one three-pointer (35). Ionescu can break Shameka Christon's franchise mark with one on Thursday night.
Atlanta last played on Sunday night, dropping a 69-50 decision to the undefeated Connecticut Sun in the opener to their own CC affairs. Charles, the all-time leading scorer in Liberty history, had a dozen points and rebounds in defeat, which saw Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard combined to go 5-of-20 from the field.
This will be the first of four meetings between the Liberty and Dream this season as well as the first of three this month alone. The Liberty took three of the quartet last season, including both matchups in Georgia. In addition to Charles, back on a WNBA floor after taking the 2023 season off, the Dream roster, led by ex-Liberty shooer Tanisha Wright, features other former New Yorkers like Crysta Dangerfield and Lorela Cubaj.
What: New York Liberty (8-2, 2-0) vs. Atlanta Dream (4-3, 0-1) (WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game)
Where: Gateway Center Arena at College Park, College Park, GA
When/Watch: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET, WWOR
Who's Favored: NYL -6.5
Keep An Eye On: Leonie Fiebich
Courtney Vandersloot is questionable for Thursday's game due to personal reasons while Nyara Sabaly remains out. That could give the rookie Fiebich, a lengthy backcourt type, some extended time on Thursday as she continues to search for a groove. Fiebich has hinted at a lingering outside prowess but hasn't gotten much time to develop a consistent groove and management would like to see her use her length to hone her defensive prowess. The Liberty have had some reserve breakouts this season, primarily that of Kayla Thronton as the sixth woman. But the more reinforcements for the seemingly inevitable major tilts against Connecticut and Las Vegas, the better, especially as those sides (Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes) continue to bolster their own second units.
Dream to Watch: Tina Charles
Now 35, Charles has made the most of her new opportunity, one that comes under the guidance of her close friend Wright. Charles has had at least 10 rebounds in four of her first eight games in red and has still shown she's capable of taking over contests single-handedly (i.e. a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double in her return game against Los Angeles on May 15). With the Liberty's fortunes fluctuating with Jonquel Jones' interior work ... or lack thereof, considering her foul trouble ... Charles could once again come up big in a Liberty game.
They Said It
"Really, to anybody, this is the best league in the world. Nobody's going to give you anything easy," "Understanding that and learning how to play through it at this level. They're the fastest, the strongest, the quickest and that's why this is the WNBA. (We'll) continue to pay attention to what we do. Understand that we're trying to bring our best basketball when we're playing against other teams. We're obviously trying to win. But knowing as a collective we're continuing to bring this league to a better place altogether."-Breanna Stewart on the perception of physicality in the WNBA
Prediction
The Liberty's CC gauntlet has been daunting, though it's one that has been somewhat offset by revamped travel procedures that players like Stewart have long fought for. Atlanta has been fairly pesky in its own right (they're one of two teams to down the defending champion Las Vegas Aces) but the Liberty have been consistent enough to win games that they should. As long as they're not caught looking ahead to Saturday's potential thriller against the Sun, they should be able to take care of business.
Liberty 84, Dream 79
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks