New York Liberty at the break: 3 takeaways as the WNBA All-Star and Olympic pause ends

Three takeaways from the first 25 games of the season for the Liberty (21-4), who resume play Thursday night in Los Angeles after about a month off for the All-Star/Olympic break.

1. They have a better bench to use this season when needed.

The regular starting five played only 12 games together.

Point guard Courtney Vandersloot missed nine games mostly of here mother's illness and then death.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the guard/forward who’s the Liberty’s best perimeter defender, sat out seven games because of a right knee issue that required surgery on July 16. That came with a four-to-six-week return-to-play timeline.

Breanna Stewart, the 2023 WNBA MVP, also didn’t play in the last two before the break.

Yet this team still managed to excel.

Leonie Fiebich, a WNBA rookie and German Olympian, had to make seven starts, including the final four, and the Liberty won every time. The 6-4 forward delivered 13 points in two of the last three games to establish her career high in the league. She was shooting 38.3% on threes overall and brought length.

Nyara Sabally missed 11 games due to a back injury, but she brought size inside and looked improved when she did play in this second season. The 6-5 center also flashed her ability with 16 points for Germany in an Olympic win over Belgium, just like Fiebich did.

Forward Kennedy Burke and guard Ivana Dojkic had their moments.

And energetic forward Kayla Thornton, in her third season with the Liberty, was needed for starting duty nine times and showed herself to be a valuable 3-and-D type of player as usual.

2. Jonquel Jones is very good.

OK, we already knew that.

But while the mobile 6-6 All-Star center was a force inside again, she also shot better from three-point range — 39.6%. She just missed out on winning the league’s three-point contest.

Jones also showed off her passing ability, averaging 3.5 assists, a career-high rate. That went with averages of 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds.

3. Nobody’s perfect.

The Liberty aren’t invincible. They lost to Chicago, Minnesota, Phoenix and Indiana, and they fell to the Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final.

None of the four teams right below the Liberty — Connecticut, Minnesota, Seattle and two-time defending champ Las Vegas — is more than 4 1/2 games back. So there will still be hazards in the way for a Liberty team seeking a repeat trip to the Finals and the franchise’s first WNBA title. But there’s a lot to like here.

“They’ve got quality depth,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said. “They’ve got players who can make shots in clutch time and make shots in bulk.”