Friday night was a reminder game, with the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces, despite a No. 4 seed and an 0-2 hole, reminding the WNBA world that taking them down will be quite the task. Will they do it again, winning a 13th-straight home playoff game to force a Game 5? Or, can the No. 1-seed New York Liberty show that, as the season’s best team, they’re ready to take down the title-holding titans on the road?
The next chapter of Liberty-Aces tips off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 6 (ABC).
What’s the Liberty’s Sab strategy?
In Game 3, the Aces’ top defensive priority was obvious: shut down Sabrina Ionescu. Vegas certainly succeeded in doing so, preventing the fifth-year guard from getting off, much less sinking, her 3-point espresso shots that have proved powerful sources of positive momentum for the Liberty throughout the postseason. Ionescu managed just seven total shot attempts, and only two 3-point attempts, as she mostly was relegated to bystander status on the offensive end because of the Aces’ aggressive blitzes.
New York, however, also employs the top assisting point guard in WNBA postseason history in Courtney Vandersloot. Albeit still limited to 20 minutes of playing time in Game 3, Sloot had her highest usage game of the postseason, totaling her most shot attempts and assists in a 2024 playoff game. Will head coach Sandy Brondello seek to utilize her more in Game 4, including when Ionescu is on the floor? While extended stretches of a Vandersloot-Ionescu backcourt would weaken New York’s perimeter defense, Vandersloot’s creation could help Ionescu get loose for scoring opportunities.
Or, Brondello and the Liberty might choose to continue to have Ionescu serve as a decoy. Believing that the the Aces again will direct defensive attention to Ionescu, the Liberty can try to generate more scoring chances for Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Leonie Fiebich. Each of those players took just eight shots in Game 3. That strategy, along with riding the Breanna Stewart tough-shot express, could result in New York putting enough points on the board, despite Vegas’ increased defensive intensity.
A Tip for the Aces?
Defense, with a maximum attention to detail and desire, again will be key for the home team. Led by the unstoppable A’ja Wilson, it’s easy trust the Aces’ offense. Every Vegas player again must follow Wilson’s example on defense: smart helping, sharp rotations and clear communication.
It will be…
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