Shooting Woes Continue As Liberty Suffers Third Straight Defeat

New York Liberty guard Tanisha Wright (left) has her shot blocked by Sylvia Fowles on May 31, 2016. (Photo by Wendell Cruz – Double G Media)

The word around the New York Liberty has been the problem of shooting. If you ask Liberty Head Coach Bill Laimbeer what he doesn’t have enough off, its shooters. Usually this will be the go to issue as it was in their 79-69 loss to the Minnesota Lynx (6-0), the defending WNBA Champions.

As Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus, two of four Olympians, had their run of the floor, New York struggled with their field goal percentage. “Minnesota’s a very big first quarter team,” Laimbeer summarized. “They execute so well and played with such intensity in the first quarter and we went down.” This was going to be a problem when they entered the 2016 season without two of their best shooters, Essence Carson, to free agency and Candice Wiggins to retirement.

But with a backcourt that consists of Lindsey Harding, who doesn’t shoot enough and Sugar Rodgers, who needs to get the ball in her hands more, it’s been an area of concern now that the Liberty (2-3) have suffered their third straight defeat, all at home.

The release and return of Swin Cash has taken her out of the offensive flow and she has spent more time in the paint than aiming her corner daggers. In addition, wasting on the bench is Shoni “Showtime” Schimmel, a pure shooter, who can’t get a minute to show anything since she is not in the proper shape we are told.

The truth of the matter is that the process of fusing a team that saw half its roster overhauled and turnovers, 19 in all, especially against a team like the Lynx, the best in the WNBA currently is not a recipe for success. “It’s a work in progress with our new faces, but that’s not the case with what’s causing the problem.”

The Liberty will have a chance to work out some of these issues when they face the Indiana Fever on Friday night in Madison Square Garden. This was the team that stopped their run here last season in the Eastern Conference Finals on this very floor.