Liberty vs Sparks Preview: Life After Cameron Brink

The New York Liberty face a Los Angeles Sparks group reeling from a devastating injury to rookie sensation Cameron Brink.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

Coasts collide for a couple at Barclays Center, but some major headliners will be missing when the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks do battle at Barclays Center.

New York and Los Angeles have a back-to-back that tips off on Thursday night, with both sides looking to recover from recent heartbreak.

The Liberty saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night, dropping a 99-93 decision to the Phoenix Mercury in the desert despite sinking a WNBA-record 18 three-pointers. Los Angeles likewise played on Tuesday but lost more than a 79-70 clash against the Connecticut Sun, as rookie sensation Cameron Brink endured a knee injury that turned out to be a torn ACL. Brink, the second overall pick in this spring's WNBA Draft, will miss the rest of the season, including the Paris Olympics, where she was set to rep the United States in the 3x3 tournament.

The Liberty are also still working shorthanded, as they're still missing Nyara Sabally due to a back injury while Courtney Vandersloot is once again doubtful due to personal reasons.

A rematch between the Liberty and Sparks is set for Saturday and will serve as the second of four meetings. The Liberty won each of the three showdowns staged last season, including the lone tilt in Brooklyn by a 96-89 final in the penultimate game of their regular season.

What: Los Angeles Sparks (4-11) @ New York Liberty (12-3)

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

When/Watch: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, WWOR/Amazon Prime Video

Who's Favored: NYL -14.5

Keep An Eye On: Leonie Fiebich

Brink may be out but there are still plenty of freshman activities to keep an eye on. Fiebich's trial by hardwood fire appears set to continue with Vandersloot and Sabally still recovering. She has yet to earn a start this season but Fiebich continues to stand as a closer, often playing most, if not all, of the fourth quarter. Entering the weekend, only two other rookies ... the highly-touted Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese ... are averaging more fourth quarter minutes since June 1. With the Liberty set to enter another packed portion of their schedule (four games over the next six days, concluding with the Commissioner's Cup final against Minnesota), Fiebich's talents are set to be heavily relied upon.

Spark to Watch: Li Yueru

With Brink out, another young Southern Californian is set to step up: the sophomore is set to take over Brink's minutes in the interior, doing so rather well on Tuesday to the tune of 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The 25-year-old, a Chinese national teammate of former New York fan favorite Han Xu, has taken advantage of her minutes more than doubling after coming over from Chicago, notably hitting over 59 percent of her attempts from the field over the last six games. Late rebounding came back to bite the Liberty in the final minutes of Thursday's game. While Yueru is obviously not at Brittney Griner's level, she'll be looking to make a statement ... and there's no better place than two nights in Brooklyn.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

They Said It

"Sometimes we're trying to get to our matchups when there's a person right in front of us. It's about knowing the importance of guarding your matchup, but also we were overrunning a little bit, we were kind of creating offense for them. It's something we can lock back in ... we have another incredible stretch coming up. We go home and lock back in."-Breanna Stewart on the Liberty's defensive struggles vs. Phoenix

Prediction

There's a prime opportunity for the Liberty to start a winning streak on Thursday and Saturday, especially against a reeling young Sparks group that has to get used to life after Brink. A sense of desperation may linger in the Liberty's arsenal as well: they're still the only team to get the best of the WNBA-leading Connecticut Sun and they're now tied for second place with the equally surging Minnesota Lynx. Capable of taking care of business, the Liberty will be kicking themselves if they miss out on an opportunity such as this.

Liberty 98, Sparks 82

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