The start of the Liberty‘s season is here.
And so are the challenges for head coach Chris DeMarco.
The Liberty could enter Friday’s season opener — and upcoming games in the near future — with just seven players available due to injuries and overseas commitment.
On the mend are Sabrina Ionescu (ankle), Rebecca Allen (left leg) and Satou Sabally (cyst), all ruled out for Friday.
Sabally’s latest cyst designation comes after the ex-Mercury star missed all preseason games with what the team called “reconditioning.” Allen also had her “reconditioning” status changed in Thursday evening’s injury report.
Marine Fauthoux, the Liberty’s lone development player as of Thursday night, is still bouncing back from a new injury. Whenever Fauthoux is ready to go, the team has the option of activating her for up to 12 games without roster or cap impact.
Leonie Fiebich and Raquel Carrera currently aren’t with the team as they fulfill Spanish Euroleague duties with Valencia.
The restraints are DeMarco’s first real issue as a WNBA head coach.
But his players are still embracing the obstacles.
“Listen, I’d rather have the challenge early,” said team leader Breanna Stewart. “You know what I mean? For us to know that we’re working through some things, but we have enough on the court at all times, and just focus on getting healthy. The beginning of the season is going to be like — hopefully, it won’t be bumpy, but there’s going to be ebbs and flows throughout it, and for us to kind of continue to build and work through that so that we don’t have to do it all season. That would be great.”
Luckily for the Liberty, there are six off days scheduled after the fourth game of the season (May 14 at Portland Fire).
Stewart is embracing the “challenge” head on, and the optimism comes after a season of injuries that ravaged the team’s title defense.
The 2025 title defense under previous head coach Sandy Brondello came with lengthy absences to the Big 3 throughout the 44-game regular season: Stewart and Jonquel Jones missed 13 games apiece, and Ionescu sat out six.
Two of the three are back for the season opener, but their miles may vary.
DeMarco said Thursday he’ll “meet with his staff and decide” on how many minutes Stewart, 31, will play. He also didn’t disclose if Betnijah Laney-Hamilton — or any other Liberty hooper — would be on a minutes restriction.
Laney-Hamilton would be a likely candidate for a minutes restriction as she is playing in her first WNBA regular season minutes since sitting out the entirety of last season recovering from a meniscus injury.
“Yeah, we’ll monitor it,” DeMarco said of her veteran guard’s minutes.
The team’s initial starting lineup will be impacted with two voids — Ionescu and Sabally — left to fill.
Look for Pauline Astier to play starter minutes with a starting guard spot now open.
In Thursday’s practice open for media view, a lineup of Astier, Laney-Hamilton, Stewart, Jones and Marine Johannes played five-on-five against the team’s practice squad.
DeMarco, however, dismissed the idea of that rotation being a preview of what’s to come.
“Not really. [We’re] mixing & matching. Obviously shorthanded today,” he said.
If that lineup does get some playing time, Stewart likes the dynamic it brings.
“I think it’ll put stress on [the] other team… where we have five scorers on the floor at all times,” the two-time MVP said of what the lineup brings. “Also just a little bit of newness from Pauline. Hopefully she can kind of show her international game a little bit more in her WNBA debut, which is really exciting for her. And then defensively, we want to be active. We want to be fast and get the ball back as quickly as possible.”
Rebekah Gardner and Han Xu are slated for playing time regardless of their long-term roles. Per Gardner, the structure of New York’s roster sets the team up for success despite the lengthy injury report.
“The great thing about being on the New York Liberty is that players one through 12 can be starters on any team,” she said. “So I feel like even if we’re missing two or three players, that we still have great players to step in and step up and take those roles.”