• “The New York Liberty have the most appearances in the WNBA Finals without a championship and are the only remaining original franchise in the WNBA without a championship.” – Wikipedia

The Lib just made a massive statement this morning, beating the previously undefeated Connecticut Sun, holding off numerous runs, and showing why they might be finally ready to end their franchise’s title-less streak and win not only back-to-back Commissioner’s Cup but maybe, just maybe win that WNBA title. But why? What is the difference this year? Are their “big two”, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, that much better? They are definitely just as good as they were last year – and they were great last year. But what are the X factors this year? And is Jonquel Jones the third of the “big three” on the Liberty?

Jonquel Jones is emerging as an even more dominant force. Yes, last year there was some debate as to who would be the “big three” for the Liberty. Was it Jones or was it Courtney Vandersloot? While Vandersloot’s veteran presence can never be underestimated on this team, she has been away from the team (including in today’s win) and losing minutes to a rookie (more on that in a moment), whereas Jonquel Jones is in her ascendancy and seems to be an all around dominant third force behind Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart. Jones has had three double-doubles in her last five appearances, and today scored a near season high 22 points including going 4-7 from three. It was another all-around dominant performance. What Jones does also manages to take the heat off Ionescu and Stewart, spacing the floor and providing aggressive D when needed. Some say that this is a personal rivalry for her and the Sun – as she left them two years ago to join the liberty and become a pillar of this superteam. But honestly, it felt like Jones was all business on Saturday.

The second reason is the arrival of rookie Leonie Fiebich. Fiebich has really been coming on strong the last two weeks of play and recently arrived in the top 10 of ESPN’s rookie rankings. Normally Courtney Vandersloot’s unknown prolonged absence would be a reason to think that the Liberty might be going through a rough patch – and right in the middle of the Commissioner’s Cup no less. But that has not been the case, largely because of Fiebich. Yes I know they play different positions but Fiebich has been averaging almost 17 minutes over the last four games, arguably taking up some of Courtney’s aggregate minutes, and really coming on as a presence in the post and as a ball handler. And if you are wondering if it kills me that Fiebich was drafted by the Sparks and traded to the Libs last year – yes, it does.

The Liberty, to me, feel like the most professional and well-tuned of all WNBA teams – even the Aces, who are having some struggles early in the season. They feel like the WNBA equivalent of the Denver Nuggets or the Boston Celtics. And like the Nuggets found out this year and the Celtics have found out in previous years, those kind of teams can have trouble battling unexpected opponents because they get ingrained in their grind so much that they may not be able to get out of it and adjust that game to the unexpected strengths of traditionally lesser opponents.

And that is really my only concern for the Liberty. How well can they adjust to the unexpected? I almost am more interested in seeing the Liberty play the younger bad teams (Sparks, Fever, Sky) than the good ones, as the former, on any given night, can offer an unexpected challenge that is arguably more representative of a playoff match-up. Otherwise, I think you can give the Liberty the inside track to repeat for the Commissioner’s Cup and maybe – just maybe – finally get that title.