Despite a cold-shooting night two days ago, the New York Liberty offered a championship-level blueprint of what it takes to win basketball games. They dominated the glass with 13 offensive rebounds, forced more turnovers than they allowed assists, and routinely got to the foul line — namely, Breanna Stewart, leading the way by logging 21 free-throw attempts.
The metrics might not pop off the page, but they help come playoff time.
On Monday, the Liberty look to extend their winning streak to five games against the 2-10 Connecticut Sun. The Liberty blew them out by 31 points in their last meeting. With the rotation finally hitting its stride, New York has all the momentum to sustain this recent surge.
Aside from making winning plays, the New York Liberty are one of the most unselfish teams in the league. In each victory during this recent stretch, a different player has stepped up to lead the team in scoring.
It feels like it can be anyone on Monday with the way they’re rolling. The Sun simply are not who they used to be. They’re focused on the future instead of the present. Outside of that, Connecticut fans don’t have much to feel positive about — they have the worst net-rating in the league at minus-16.0.
Expect Johannès to get extended opportunities off the bench. Same for a ton of players — if things go the same way they did the last time these two teams met.