The New York Liberty took the first step toward revenge against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday with an 87-77 victory in Game 1 of their semifinal series. Brianna Stewart led the way. Sabrina Ionescu had 34 points, five rebounds and four assists, and had 21 points, four rebounds and five assists.
This will be the second consecutive season that the Liberty and Aces will meet in the playoffs. Only this time, it will take place in the semi-finals instead of the finals. The team that wins this series won’t hoist the trophy, but there’s a good chance they’ll be the team that clinch the title.
The Liberty are the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs and got there with a landslide victory over the Atlanta Dream in the first round. As for the Aces, they had a disappointing regular season where they were seeded 4th and had to get past the Seattle Storm in the first round. It wasn’t an easy job, but we managed to complete the cleanup.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the most anticipated matchup of the playoffs.
1st place New York Liberty vs. 4th place Las Vegas Aces
Game 1: Liberty 87, Ace 77 (Liberty 1-0)Game 2: Ace at Liberty, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN2Game 3: Liberty at Ace, Oct. 4, 9:30 p.m. (ET) — ESPN2 Game 4*: Liberty at Ace, Oct. 6, TBA — TBA Game 5*: Ace at Liberty, Oct. 8, TBA — ESPN2
※as needed
Featured players
Liberty: Sabrina Ionescu
Ionescu carried the Liberty on his back in Game 2 of the first round and finished with a playoff career-high 36 points, tying Liberty’s franchise record for points in a postseason game. Will she be able to maintain that level in this series? One of the many reasons the Liberty lost to the Aces in the Finals last season was Ionescu’s lackluster play: 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, shooting 31.6 percent overall. If she can play at her usual level, Liberty will have a great chance moving forward.
Ace: Chelsea Gray
Let’s stick to the guard theme here. Gray missed the first month of the season while recovering from a foot injury sustained in the 2023 Finals and struggled to find a rhythm upon his return. But over the past few weeks, the signs have been increasing. She averaged 14 points and 8 assists in the first round, and including those two games, the Aces are 22-7 this season with her in the lineup and 7-6 without her. It is a loss. Her presence alone is a big boost for Ace, and if she’s close to her best, she could make this three-peat.
three keys of the series
Liberty Jumbo Defense vs. Aja Wilson
Aja Wilson can’t be stopped, but some teams are better equipped to make it difficult for her. The first round was a perfect example, with Storm’s size and physicality in the paint forcing Wilson to work really hard for his buckets. She scored 45 points in two games, but it took 38 shots to get there, and she attempted just seven free throws. As a result, the Storm had a chance to win both matches.
Could the Liberty follow the same blueprint? On paper, the answer is yes.
Liberty has two of the best interior defenders in the league in Brianna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, who will likely be the main players in rotation with Wilson. They have a very large starting lineup around them, with Leoni Fievich replacing Courtney Vandersloot, and they play with plenty of physicality. And when Keir Stokes is with Wilson, a Liberty team will have almost negligible players on the perimeter to crowd the paint.
Wilson is going to put up numbers and make a big impact on both ends of the floor, but it’s worth noting that the only time she’s scored over 25 points in the past two seasons was against Liberty and against Stewart-Jones’ frontcourt. That means only. Will that trend continue? Or does the three-time MVP have a few tricks up her sleeve?
3 point shot
Of the eight teams that made it to the playoffs this season, they made more 3-point shots than the Liberty (29.0) and Aces (26.5), who ranked first and third in the league in attempts per game, respectively. No team hit. . Neither team shot as well as expected, but both still finished in the top five in terms of efficiency, with the Aces coming in fourth (35.5%) and the Liberty fifth (34.9%). Looking at the percentage of points scored from 3-point shots, the Liberty team came in 2nd place (35.5 points) and the Ace team came in 4th place (32.6 points).
We could go on with the stats, but the point is, 3-point shooting is essential for both teams and will very likely decide the series.
This is always true to some extent. Teams that make more 3s than their opponents are 4-2 in the playoffs so far. But this is especially true in matchups between two high-volume teams. You can have insane shooting performance in either direction, probably even in the same game.
new faces
For the most part, these teams are the same as they met in last season’s Finals. Same coach, same key players, same style of play. The exception to this rule is Leonie Fievich and Tiffany Hayes, one of the key additions by each club.
Fivic, who was acquired from Chicago in the Marina Mabry trade, made her WNBA debut this season. However, at 24 years old, she has extensive overseas experience and is no ordinary newcomer. Thanks to her size and versatility on the perimeter, she didn’t take long to establish herself as one of Liberty’s most important players. Her presence allows the Liberty to switch everything up defensively, while also being a knockdown shooter who finished seventh in the league in 3-point shooting (43.3%).
Hayes is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of experience. In fact, the 35-year-old announced her retirement from the WNBA at the end of last season, only to make a surprise return midway through the season and sign with the Aces. Hayes’ addition was a big boost, especially for a team lacking depth in the backcourt. She is a front-runner for the Player of the Year award and often provides a much-needed spark to change the energy of the game when the Aces are struggling.
We’ve already seen each player win games for their team this postseason. Fivic accomplished that in Game 1 against the Dream, hitting four threes and scoring a career-high 21 points. Hayes also played a big role in the first game against the Aces Storm, scoring 20 points and five steals off the bench, igniting the Aces’ offense that was lagging behind.
Both players will play important roles in this series and will have a huge influence on which teams advance.
prediction
The Liberty have been the best team in the league all season, but the Aces have only recently started to feel like themselves. A month ago, Liberty would have been the heavy favorite, but now with home court advantage tilting the odds slightly in Liberty’s favor, it’s almost a landslide.
Picking against Wilson and the reigning champion is a risky proposition, but for some reason the Aces haven’t quite clicked this season, even with their recent strong showings. Buoyed by last season’s loss in the Finals, Liberty has been strong all season, with their defenses having fewer weaknesses than the last time the teams met in the playoffs. Pick: Liberty in 5