Takeaways from New York Liberty preseason opener, a 94-86 loss to Connecticut Sun

On Friday night, the New York Liberty played a real game for the first time in seven months, and their first home preseason game since 2019. (I think they knew the Brooklyn Nets weren’t making the playoffs this season, erasing a potential Barclays Center conflict.)

Missing Breanna Stewart (rest) and Leonie Fiebich (still in Spain), they faced the Connecticut Sun, who most pundits have predicted to be the W’s second-worst team this season, scraping above the expansion Golden State Valkyries.

Though true insights during the preseason are scarce, there were some notable factors areas to watch for the Libs on Friday, primarily their stated offensive goal of playing faster, with more 5-out spacing.

So far, so good. Head Coach Sandy Brondello subbed out most of the starting lineup at halftime, but before then, New York scored 50 points on a ridiculous 67% from the floor. Kennedy Burke started her season of opportunity perfectly, scoring seven points before the first commercial break…

As seen above, Sabrina Ionescu was active both as a playmaker and screener, a skill she’s often discussed this preseason, and Jonquel Jones did not vanish in 5-out spacing, posting 7/3/2 in her 18 minutes of action.

New York’s presumptive bench guards looked comfortable too. Rebekah Gardner, who started the game, did not look like a 34-year-old coming off a torn achilles, but a springy 3-and-D guard ready to contribute to a championship team. She scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a three, though her stat-line hardly mattered.

Neither did Marine Johannès, whose laughable brand of basketball cannot be read off a box score. Barclays Center loved every one of her dozen points, which came in trademark fashion…

Even Marquesha Davis and Jaylyn Sherrod (who only appeared in the second half), looked better for their rookie year experiences. Davis blew by closeouts en route to the rim, a step toward proving her twitchy athleticism can add value off the ball, too.

And yet, we couldn’t really judge New York’s stated goal of playing faster on offense: “Look, I think today, we wanted to run more, but we couldn’t run more because we fouled them and they were scoring. So it really took us out of what we’re really good at.”

Indeed, the home team lost the lead in the second quarter and never recovered it. Defensively, they looked overmatched by a Connecticut Sun team that bathed in a microwave of open looks to start the game and never cooled off. Veteran leader Marina Mabrey hit three triples, Olivia Nelson-Ododa dominated inside, and Jacy Sheldon looked every bit of a #5 overall pick.

It helped that the Sun were facing this type of pick-and-roll defense…

“We got to get to the loose 50/50 balls,” said newcomer Natasha Cloud. “I think we got beat too much in transition defense, getting beat down the floor by players when we were running kind of buddy-buddy, running with them. So it’s just — those are the things that excite me, is that’s all effort and pride, right?”

Outside of some feisty Jaylyn Sherrod moments in the second half, the Sun were unbothered running their offense. Meanwhile, they cranked up their own defensive intensity in the second half, and a surprising result could be easily explained in one stat category…

Said Brondello: “We got a little clunky in some of the stuff we did at both ends of the floor. And a little uncharacteristic, but that’s why these games really are important for us.”

Their mistakes hardly killed the mood of a Barclays Center crowd just there to see their seafoam team hoop for the first time in more than half-a-year. And hey, all 12 players that touched the court scored on Friday, a blessed sight especially for the few that will be cut.

Jaylyn Sherrod rudely rejected a screen and hopped into a pull-up three just before the buzzer sounded, putting the final decorative touches on a night that, while fun, reminded the Liberty how hard it is to win a championship.

Even if you’ve just won one.

“We talk about, just like a reality check. And the reality check doesn’t have to be in a bad way.” — Natasha Cloud

Final Score: Connecticut Sun 94, New York Liberty 86