Sabrina Ionescu herself was not great offensively, shooting just 33 percent from the field in the second half of the regular season with the New York Liberties, and that number dropped even further in the final three games of the year, plummeting to 18 percent.
The New York Liberty were the overwhelming favorites going into their first-round matchup with the eighth-seeded Atlanta Dream, but the big question was whether the shooter could overcome her shooting struggles. She was a 44.3% three-point shooter entering the 2023 season, but can she recapture that form as the Liberty strives for a championship?
Ionescu erased any concerns about her shot with a close win in front of a rapturous Barclays Center crowd, tying the franchise record for most points in a playoff game.
Ionescu scored 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting and had a game-high nine assists in the 91-82 series win.
“It was really important for us to have those two guys and have two days off, rest up, recharge and be ready for whatever games we're going to play,” Ionescu said after the win.
She also said she was energized by high-fiving Spike Lee during the game.
“At that moment, it felt like New York was injected into my veins,” Ionescu said with a smile.
On the other side of the country, Kelsey Plumb was similarly hoping to shake off her poor shooting performance.
She began the 2024 postseason with an uncharacteristic night, scoring just two points on 1-of-8 shooting in Game 1 against the Seattle Storm, and later revealed that she had been battling an illness during the game.
But the three-time All-Star rallied and led the Las Vegas Aces to a decisive Game 2 victory, scoring 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, six rebounds and three assists.
“I guess I'm just trying to be a little more lenient with myself. In Game 1, I was vomiting the whole game,” Plum said after the game. “I was sitting at a sushi restaurant yesterday and I was like, 'Hey, I'm gonna throw Game 1 out the window.'”
The two all-star guards, who won gold medals at the Paris Olympics last month, will face off in Game 1 on Sunday when the Liberty hosts the Aces. WNBA Semi-final.
As two-time defending champions, they will be forced to play at a higher level when they take on the Liberty.
“New York is a lot better than they were last year, simply put,” Plum said. “They're bigger, they're shooting the ball better. Individually, they're all better basketball players, so they deserve all the credit.”
Aces coach Becky Hammon said she is pleased with her team's recent defensive improvement but is aware of the challenges ahead.
“They've been the best team all year,” Hammon said. “They were an angry team, they played on the edge, and we were able to get there. I think we've probably gotten our edge back the last three or four weeks. It always starts on the defensive side, but at the end of the day, it's wins and losses, shots made, shots missed, it's all 0-0.”
Both the Aces and Liberty have had multiple MVP award winners: A'ja Wilson has won it three times in her career, and Breanna Stewart has won it twice. Both were Defensive Player of the Year candidates, and both have continued to be named MVPs.
But it may depend on the strength of both teams' All-Star guards, and on Tuesday night, both Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum showed no signs of being shaken by their early September struggles.
