NY Liberty vs. LA Sparks preview: Liberty come home for a two game mini series
Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images
The Liberty are back home for a two game homestand. The LA Sparks come in for the first of two. That wasn’t so fun. The New York Liberty were in the desert hoping to extend their winning streak to nine straight games. However, the Phoenix Mercury (and some terrible officiating) proved to be too much to handle as the Libs streak was snapped in a close one. New York is now 12-3 on the WNBA season.
The opponent tonight is in the midst of a youth movement. The Los Angeles Sparks are trying to build for a new era as they look to regain their standing in the league. There will be brighter days ahead, but it’s going to be rough in the meantime. They were in Uncasville to face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night and lost 79-70.
Where to follow the game
MY9 on TV. Fox Local, Liberty Live, Prime Video, League Pass and the YES App on streaming. Tip after 7 PM.
Injuries
No Nyara Sabally and no Courtney Vandersloot as well. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was a late addition to the injury report with a right knee issue. She's listed as questionable.
Cameron Brink left Tuesday’s game with a knee injury. Everyone was hoping for the best, however we got some bad news on Wednesday afternoon.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Cameron Brink suffered a left torn ACL in Tuesday's game vs. Connecticut Sun.Additional details will be provided at a later date.— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) June 19, 2024
Brink will likely miss the rest of this season as well as the 3x3 competition in the upcoming Olympics.
Azura Stevens is still out with her shoulder injury.
The game
The Sparks will get a chance to get comfortable in New York as this is the start of a two game set between the teams. LA has three games to go on this seven game road trip.
So will replace Brink in the starting lineup? Chances are Li Yueru will move into the starting five and handle the bulk of the minutes there. She’ll have her hands full going up against Jonquel Jones. JJ had another elite outing on Tuesday night as she had 17/6/7/2/1 on 6-11 from the field. Jones has been a force on both sides of the ball and she will command a great deal of attention from her old coach Curt Miller.
The guard matchup should be interesting. Aari McDonald had her first start of the season on Tuesday and had 14 points and seven assists. However, she had six turnovers and you could classify almost all of them as unforced. For a Sparks team that has to make the most out of every possession if they want to compete, they can’t afford to have those mistakes from the lead guard position. On the other side, Sabrina Ionescu will look to strike the right balance between lighting it up from three point range and finding success in the paint. She tied her career high in three point attempts with 14, but only made four of them. Funny thing about it is those four threes are a season high for her!
Speaking of three point defense, the Liberty defense will look to clean up their three point coverage. They overcorrected a bit to account for Brittney Griner’s gravity rolling to the basket, so they’ll need to fix that.
Player to watch: Dearica Hamby
It’s always great to see a player rewarded for their hard work. For Dearica Hamby, this is a moment that was well deserved. After she was controversially traded by the Las Vegas Aces in February 2023, she has made LA her new home. She’s played incredibly well in 2024 and is a great candidate to make this year’s All Star Game. Hamby will be in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future as she agreed to a contract extension that will stretch into 2025. Hamby spoke about life in Los Angeles with Jackie Rae
"I chose to come to LA after all of the trade stuff happened, and when I came here they all wrapped their arms around me... I'll never forget that. My loyalty is with LA." Dearica Hamby w/ @JackieRaeTV ️ pic.twitter.com/9NmKbNt9r7— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 19, 2024
Having true support goes a long way.
On the court, Hamby is having the best season of her career. She’s averaging 18.3 points and 10.7 rebounds a night on .512/.406/.638 shooting splits in 36 minutes a night. For a team that’s still trying to find its way, having a steady veteran hand like Hamby will keep them afloat.
Breanna Stewart found her three point shot! On Tuesday night, Stewart went a perfect 4-4 from downtown as she was able to get back on track in a major way. For a player as great as Stewart, the numbers always tend to get back to where we’re used to, so Stewart should keep firing from downtown and trust the process that’s got her here. On the other side, she’ll look to ensure the team’s communication on defense is in order.
From the Vault
On Tuesday, we got the news that Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away at the age of 93. Mays is one of the best, most important players in MLB history and words can’t do justice to the type of player and person he was. With the Say Hey Kid in mind, let’s take a trip back into time with Sports Century!
More reading: Silver Screen and Roll, Swish Appeal, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next
New York Liberty Game Notes - New York Liberty
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