WNBA playoffs takeaways: New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces ...

At the start of the 2023 WNBA season, two questions prevailed: Would the Las Vegas Aces repeat as champions? Or would the revamped New York Liberty capture their first title in franchise history?

Last October, the Aces answered by becoming the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02 to repeat. The Liberty walked off the Barclays Center court with a loss in the WNBA Finals for the fifth time.

A year later, a lot yet very little has changed. Both teams feature new players. The Aces notably added veteran guard Tiffany Hayes while the Liberty retooled their bench and inserted 24-year-old rookie wing Leonie Fiebich into their starting lineup. But the central questions from last season remain largely the same.

ADVANCED ♠️

The @LVAces are returning to the Semi-Finals after defeating the Seattle Storm 83-76 in Game 2 of the Best of 3 opening round#WelcometotheW | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/zyVU52gI5w

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 25, 2024

Of course, there is one notable difference between then and now. When Las Vegas and New York tip off Sunday, it will be in the league semifinals, not the WNBA Finals. Still, anticipation remains high with both eyeing a title. One semifinal is set, while another will be solidified Wednesday night.

NEW YORK — Trailing by 8 points with 6:32 left in the third quarter, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu received a gesture of encouragement from a welcomed source. Acclaimed producer, director and Brooklyn native Spike Lee stood from his courtside seat and high-fived the guard as she prepared to throw an inbounds pass. Six seconds later, Ionescu hit a layup, recording 2 of her 11 third-quarter points.

“I felt like New York was just injected into my veins,” Ionescu said of her exchange with Lee. “At that moment, I was like, we’re winning this.”

Sabrina Ionescu’s power source? PURE NEW YORK

In Game 2 versus the Dream, Sab said she felt the Big Apple in her veins after that legendary Spike Lee dap#WNBAPlayoffs | @Google pic.twitter.com/JzuddgF59t

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 25, 2024

Jonquel Jones said Lee’s high-five made Ionescu “like Spiderwoman.” From that point forward — and frankly, for much of the night — Ionescu did the right thing. She led New York’s third-quarter rally and scored a playoff career-high 36 points in New York’s 91-82 Game 2 win over the Atlanta Dream to clinch the series and advance to the semifinals.

Ionescu’s relentless attacking of the basket was key. Last season, she took only 19 percent of her shots at the rim and just 7 percent of her shots on floaters, according to Synergy Sports. This season, those numbers have gone up to 22.5 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively. In the third quarter, as New York played staunch defense but struggled offensively, Ionescu said her focus was getting downhill. She said she knew doing so would draw fouls, collapse the defense and find open teammates, or create easy scoring opportunities for herself.

“When she’s aggressive like that it kinda opens things up for everyone else,” Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said.

Ionescu shot 12 of 23, connecting on more than 50 percent from the field for just the second time since the All-Star break. Her efficiency will be paramount as New York prepares for the semifinals against the Aces.

Ionescu should enter with confidence. In three regular-season games (all wins) against Las Vegas this season, she averaged 17.3 points and 6.3 assists.

Liberty players said after Tuesday’s victory they’ll relish the break before Sunday’s semifinals begin. Ionescu, for at least a few hours, appeared to be basking in her hard work paying off. As she exited the press conference room, she exchanged high-fives with more than a half-dozen people. “You get some Spike Lee, too,” Ionescu repeated.

— Ben Pickman

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Indiana Fever are in a do-or-die situation, needing to win Wednesday to force Game 3 and extend what has been a historic year for the franchise. But the desperation of a must-win postseason game creates an intensity that is somewhat at odds with the looseness Indiana played with during the last three-fourths of the season.

“We like to have fun, we like to play with joy,” Lexie Hull said before practice Tuesday. “If we tense up, that’s where we’re not going to play our best, so I think we just need to stay true to ourselves, do what’s been working, and I think that will be good for us.”

That freedom needs to manifest itself on offense. The Fever acknowledged the defensive miscues and inability to defend for the full 24 seconds in Sunday’s loss at Connecticut, but defense isn’t what defines the Fever. The beauty of their offense was missing in Game 1, resulting in misses on wide-open jumpers and a lack of pace.

After all the skepticism about the young Fever knowing what to expect in the playoffs and adapting to postseason physicality and execution, a single elimination is familiar for many. Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Hull each had long NCAA Tournament runs, advancing through multiple win-or-go-home games. The WNBA presents a bigger challenge due to the talent level, but the Fever expect this format to bring out the best in them.

“You don’t want this to be the end, you want to keep coming back here,” Clark said. “You want to keep coming to practice, you want to keep having shootaround or have one more game with your team, so I feel like that’s how I approach it. I don’t want this to end. I feel like it’s been a very special year for our organization.”

That magical ride is guaranteed to last for only 40 more minutes. In order to keep the good vibes going off the court, the Fever must find that energy on it.

 —Sabreena Merchant

There were moments in September when Aces point guard Chelsea Gray’s play and energy closely resembled the 2022 finals MVP version of Gray. The player who hit dagger after dagger while threading the needle to find her teammates. The player who never failed to rise to the occasion, and subsequently, led her franchise to its first WNBA title.

They were just glimpses at first as Gray recovered and rehabbed from a foot injury that ended her season in the 2023 WNBA Finals and caused her to miss this season’s first 12 games. On top of that, as ESPN reported Tuesday night, Gray also developed a hip injury that required her to take stem cell injections. But, as has become so consistently true with Gray, her timing is immaculate. As the playoffs have hit, her emergence as her regular form — as the Aces’ “Point Gawd” — has come through more and more. And it’s no surprise that Las Vegas hitting its stride, going 11-5 after the Olympic break, coincided with the more regular appearances of Gray.

“She’s not starting to get back,” A’ja Wilson said. “She is back.”

Exhibit A:

The passing from Chelsea Gray, sheesh. pic.twitter.com/81JILABsj4

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) September 25, 2024

Exhibit B:

CHELSEA GRAY WITH AN UNREAL DIME pic.twitter.com/rxpEkic0hC

— ESPN (@espn) September 25, 2024

Gray scored 12 points with nine assists to help the Aces clinch the first-round series in Tuesday’s 83-76 victory against the Seattle Storm and move on to the semifinals against the Liberty.

In the regular season, New York swept the Aces in three matchups (Gray was available for only two). But Las Vegas with Gray operating as Point Gawd presents a far different game plan and approach than the team New York saw even a few weeks ago. Her penchant for big shots (her 15-footer that turned Game 2 into a three-possession game with two minutes to go looms large for Seattle), and big moments aren’t something opponents can necessarily game plan.

“She’s just a big shot player, big, big playmaker,” teammate Kelsey Plum said. “There’s this narrative of ‘she’s starting to get her form back.’ She’s in her form. … One of the things about Chelsea that’s so great is she does the things that need to be done to win the game.”

On Sunday and Tuesday, Gray did those things: Hit shots. Found her teammates. Operated as the team’s “free safety,” as coach Becky Hammon calls her, on defense to make calls and plays that get the team out in transition.

Gray is looking more like Gray, which means the Aces are looking more like the Aces, which means the Liberty can take only so much from the regular season because the Point Gawd looms large.

— Chantel Jennings

(Photo: Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images)