Freedom’s Dream Vision: Stewart & Ionescu in Hot Form as Freedom Aims for Advancement

At 7:30 PM on September 25, the first round of the WNBA playoffs welcomes its second match, with the league’s top-ranked New York Liberty continuing to host the Atlanta Dream at their home court, currently leading 1-0.

The New York Liberty’s performance this season has been outstanding, achieving a record of 32 wins and 8 losses, ranking first in the league. In the first game of the playoffs, the Liberty easily defeated their opponent 83-69, successfully securing an opening victory. From the performance of the first game, there is a clear gap in strength between the two teams. The Liberty established a large lead right from the first quarter and maintained control throughout. By the end of the game, Stewart scored 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Ionescu contributed 17 points and 5 assists, and Phobis scored the highest of 21 points in the game.

In terms of both strength and form, the Liberty have a definite advantage, and the team is also very healthy, with all players available to play. This season, the Liberty have performed strongly on both offense and defense, averaging 85.6 points per game while conceding only 76.5 points. Individually, Stewart averages 20.5 points per game and was selected for the All-Star First Team; Ionescu averages 18.3 points per game and was selected for the All-Star Second Team. The Liberty’s goal this time is to resolve the battle early, after all, their aim is the championship.

The Atlanta Dream only secured their playoff berth until the last game, largely due to their current first-round opponent, the Liberty’s lack of interest in the game, eventually finishing eighth in the league with a record of 15 wins and 25 losses, successfully making it onto the playoff bandwagon. However, the possibility of achieving an eighth-seed upset is virtually non-existent. They fell behind by a large margin early in the first game, and by the end of the game, only two players scored in double digits, with Howard scoring 14 points and Charles 12 points. The team shot 3 out of 16 from beyond the arc, a truly dismal performance.

The gap between the Dream and the Liberty is evident. This season, Howard has the highest average score of 17.3 points; veteran Charles continues to contribute, averaging 14.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. However, the Dream’s biggest weakness is their outside shooting, hitting only 30.8% this season, with 3 out of 16 in the first game being the best result. Once they cannot hit their outside shots, the Dream really cannot pose a threat to their opponents.

The two teams met three times in the regular season, with the Liberty winning 2 and losing 1, taking the lead. The loss was in the final game, which had some element of letting up. And in the first game of the playoffs, the Liberty won easily, the difference was quite noticeable. Given the momentum of the Liberty, they certainly will not prolong the series. If they lose, they would have to travel away for a do-or-die game, so they will definitely give it their all this time.

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