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Sky | Liberty
2016 Record: 21-13 (1st in Eastern Conference; Lost in 2nd Round)
Key Offseason Moves:
— Re-signed Sugar Rodgers and Rebecca Allen
— Traded Carolyn Swords, acquired Bria Hartley & Kia Vaughn
— Swin Cash retired
— Tanisha Wright announced she will sit out the 2017 WNBA season
— Selected Lindsay Allen (No. 14) and Kai James (No. 34) in the 2017 WNBA
Draft
2016 Highlights:
[wnba_video id=”50044″]
Appreciating Tina Charles’ Brilliance
Last season, Tina Charles became just the third player in league history to lead
the league in both scoring (21.5) and rebounding (9.9) in the same season,
joining Chamique Holdsclaw (2002) and Lauren Jackson (2007). The 2017 MVP runner
up was a dominant force on a nightly basis for the Liberty, she swept the four
Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors and was named Player of the Week a
record seven times. She also led the Liberty in assists with a career-best 3.8
per game, which ranked 13th in the WNBA and third among non-guards behind
Candace Parker and Maya Moore. What will Tina do for a follow up to her
incredible showing in 2016?
More Sugar Please
Charles wasn’t the only Liberty player to put up career-best numbers in 2016;
Sugar Rodgers had a breakout season in her fourth year in the WNBA, becoming a
full-time starter in New York and capitalizing on her opportunity. Rodgers
averaged 14.5 points (more than her previous two seasons combined) and knocked
down 86 3-pointers (second-most in the WNBA), while shooting 41.3 percent from
beyond the arc (ranked 5th in WNBA). The Liberty resigned the restricted free
agent in February to ensure that the sharpshooter would continue to rain threes
in the Garden.
Playoff Breakthrough
The Liberty have finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in each
of the last two seasons and have a total of three playoff wins to show for it.
In 2015, they advanced past the first round in three games before being knocked
out in the Conference Semifinals. In 2016, under the WNBA’s new playoff format,
the Liberty earned a first-round bye, but had to face the then red-hot Phoenix
Mercury in a single-elimination second round matchup. Phoenix came into New York
and left with a 101-94 win that ended the Liberty’s season prematurely. Will
this be the year that their regular season success translates into a long
playoff run?
New Faces
While the Liberty return much of the team that finished 21-13 last season, they
did lose a few players that will open opportunities for new players – veteran
leader Swin Cash (retired), center Carolyn Swords (traded) and defensive
standout Tanisha Wright (sitting out 2017 season). In exchange for Swords, the
Liberty received guard Bria Hartley and center Kia Vaughn from Washington in a
three-team deal. The Liberty also added a standout point guard in the 2017 Draft
in Notre Dame’s Lindsay Allen. The Liberty will also get a full season from
Epiphanny Prince, who missed all but six games last year due to injury.
More Offense
In finishing atop the Eastern Conference standings in each of the past two
years, the Liberty also led the East in defensive rating in both 2015 and 2016.
Their 99.5 defensive rating in 2016 ranked third behind Minnesota and Los
Angeles, who met in the 2016 WNBA Finals. What separated the Lynx and Sparks
from the Liberty was their ability to have elite offense as well as elite
defense. Minnesota (107.2) and Los Angeles (106.6) ranked first and third,
respectively in offensive rating, while the Liberty finished 11th at 100.3
points per 100 possessions. While they had the league’s leading scorer in
Charles, they had only one other player (Rodgers) average double figures in
scoring. Getting a full season from Prince, who averaged 15.0 points in each of
her three seasons before 2016, should definitely give the Liberty a much-needed
offensive boost. Elevating their offense should help the Liberty fare better not
only in the regular season, but in the playoffs as well.
