Sabrina Ionescu is officially back.
The Liberty hope this time, it’s for good.
Their star guard said Saturday that she was cleared to play in Sunday’s game against the Washington Mystics.
It’ll be Ionescu’s second game of the season and first since May 24. She’s been out the past three weeks with back soreness.
Ionescu returned to practice June 5, but was subsequently ruled out for New York’s win against the Indiana Fever the following day.
She didn’t make the two-game road trip with the team and instead stayed in Brooklyn to play 5-on-5 with the practice squad.
“Everything’s gone according to plan,” Ionescu said.
“It’s nice to be back with the team,” she added, “and going through our stuff and playing together as a full team.”
The Liberty (9-4) have managed to do more than just survive without its trusty point guard on the mend.
New York is on a six-game winning streak and remains undefeated in Commissioner’s Cup play. A win tomorrow would clinch the Liberty’s spot in the Cup championship game later this month.
The Liberty’s defense has made major strides over this win streak and is currently ranked as the third-best unit in the league. New York has also emerged as one of the best rebounding teams, trailing only the Las Vegas Aces in rebounding percentage.
Offensively, New York is ranked top-five in the league — and that’s without Ionescu, whose gravity, shooting, playmaking and screen-setting abilities will bring an entirely new dimension to the team’s offense.
“Oh, I mean we have a lot more levels to unlock,” Ionescu said. “I wouldn’t say we’re even close to where we can be. We’re in the first month of the season with a new coach and a new system, new offense, new defense, players who are overseas finally getting back, players who are out with injury and finally getting back. So we’re still on the way up, which I think everyone knows, everyone feels, and it’s exciting to be able to see the win stacking even though we know we’re not playing our best basketball yet. And I’d say it’s really encouraging.”
Barring any unforeseen surprises on the team’s availability report, Sunday will be the first game of the season that New York will have its full team.
Perhaps one silver lining of the Liberty’s fluctuating player availability is the opportunity it’s allowed coach Chris DeMarco and his staff to experiment with different lineups and looks whether it be Breanna Stewart at point guard, Jonquel Jones on the perimeter or driving or various combinations.
“Everyone’s figuring out that we can play different styles with different lineups,” Ionescu said. “It’s just allowed a lot more creativity in ways that maybe there wouldn’t be before if I was out there. So I think it’s been fun to see that and obviously another challenge.”
Ionescu doesn’t think she’ll have too large of a learning curve with returning to the lineup. She said the team installed most of its offensive and defensive principles in camp. She’s done her best to stay present and aware of any tweaks the team has made during her absence.
“I never want to be that player that comes back and they’re having to teach what you missed,” she said. “It’s something that you have to really be cognizant of when you’re on the sidelines is not getting carried away with, ‘Oh, I got to go do treatment or my workout.’ But it’s like, ‘OK, what did I miss? What is being put in that I need to make sure I can kind of just pick up right where I left off?’ And I feel really comfortable with everything that we’re running and knowing I just need to continue to do that and build off that.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
