Long since erased from the WNBA playoff picture – out for just the third time in history – the Liberty have been playing to salvage their dignity and salve their own battered psyches. For the past two weeks, that’s been enough. They can only hope to open 2007 the way they’re closing 2006.
The Liberty played host to Indiana last night at the Garden, aiming to win their sixth game in eight games. And while that sounds like a modest accomplishment for a team that once measured success by reaching the WNBA Finals, this team has had to remake its goals on the fly the way it remade its roster this past offseason.
“It’s important, really important,” coach Pat Coyle said of closing well. “The way we’re playing now is the way we want to start out next year. This is how we want to play. We’re going to add some more stuff [defensively], but this is the way we’re going to play. We’re going to go after people.
“The best thing that’s happened to these players is they got a chance to play. The only way you’re going to get experience is by getting out there and playing. Where you get better is by getting on the floor when the lights are on.”
On a team that changed eight of its 13 players from last season, they were almost certain to struggle. They did, going 9-22 before last night.
They bottomed out at 4-20 after a club-record 11-game losing streak and some humiliating defense, at one point the worst in the league.
But as the young players eventually grasped the vanilla defense Coyle had been forced to use, she finally felt confident letting them be more aggressive. They’ve used their athleticism to trap and dictate the game, and it’s worked.
Sure, their field goal defense was still second-worst in the league, but over their previous 10 games it’s middle of the pack. And over their last five, it’s the best in the WNBA, with their 67.2 points against second in the league.
“We started going after people. We started trapping, and double teaming the post and rotating out of it,” Coyle said. “Having so many new people there’s so much to learn. It’s taken a long time.”
So has the return of All-Star point guard Becky Hammon, who – other than an 11-minute cameo – missed the past month with an ankle injury.
The lessons were painful, but they can only hope they pay off in 2007.