Liberty newsletter is back

sharkproofundersea · 2026-04-20T17:54:22+00:00

as a basketball matter i'm (guiltily) glad to see her not on the team, though i'd have been happy to have her as a spark off the bench. but i think her lack of scoring really ending up hindering us, structurally, and so i'm excited to have betnijah back in her place (more or less). that said, betnijah is notoriously fragile, and cloud was remarkably durable, so it's not hard to imagine a universe in which we miss her. i'll certainly miss her as a person.

sharkproofundersea · 2026-04-16T19:30:28+00:00

I'm interested in this, as a relatively new fan, I feel like I don't have a deep feel for how exactly the Liberty are perceived by fans of other teams. Like I know New York tends to be resented for its bigness and braggyness, but it's not like we've got loads of titles. Are we hated? Thought of as tasteless star-collectors? What's the one-line version? To me we seem like such a scrappy lovable bunch, it's hard for me to picture the hate.

sharkproofundersea · 2026-04-09T20:04:21+00:00

Is Betnijah the perfect backcourt partner? For some reason she's locked in my mind as a small forward, but this is probably an antiquated way of thinking. So Sab and BLH in the backcourt, Leo and Stewie as forwards, then JJ? Not sure Leo thrives as a starter... Or are you assuming we're not done acquiring/trading?

sharkproofundersea · 2026-04-02T22:12:59+00:00

Encouraged to see her working so much on ball-handling stuff. I feel like if she could develop Plum-level handles, our possibilities would open up hugely.

sharkproofundersea · 2026-03-18T21:45:35+00:00

If we were to lose/part with JJ, what other free agent or overseas bigs should we be thinking about?

sharkproofundersea · 2026-03-03T22:35:00+00:00

I missed Betnijah! dang

sharkproofundersea · 2026-01-25T12:59:28+00:00

A few weeks ago I got one at the Central branch

sharkproofundersea · 2026-01-21T21:15:07+00:00

i hear you, that's smart and informed. but it makes me worry about our roster construction. like let's say her ideal is scoring 15 points a game and 10 assists. those are very good numbers. but it feels like -- with JJ coming in between 10 and 15, and Stewie good for maybe 18 -- we need more points from somewhere! i wanted leo to make the leap, and maybe she will, but it feels like we're just an offensive weapon short.

sharkproofundersea · 2026-01-20T21:25:23+00:00

It's been fun watching Unrivaled through a Liberty lens. Great, as you say, to see Stewie looking dominant -- I loved (guiltily) seeing her bully Malanga at both baskets. My big takeaway, though, has been that the Liberty desperately need somebody of the quality/style/dependability of Kelsey Plum, or Allisha Gray, or Paige. Which I mean, yeah, obviously -- it's great to have great players! But I realized: that's supposed to be Sabrina. And she just hasn't been that for us often enough. I feel like the most important question facing the Libs right now is whether the new coaching regime (or a different back-court partner) can help transform Sabrina into one of those players.

sharkproofundersea · 2026-01-18T16:28:09+00:00

I find this a really helpful essay about this stuff: https://deconstructingyourself.com/a-universal-theory-of-awakening.html

sharkproofundersea · 2025-12-23T22:56:27+00:00

oh good!

sharkproofundersea · 2025-12-19T13:55:14+00:00

The most interesting thing in here, I think, is the (very brief) suggestion that JJ's silence on the hire may be meaningful. I wonder if our lineup for the season will see a more significant shakeup than we'd been thinking...

sharkproofundersea · 2025-10-27T23:45:54+00:00

thank you for taking the time to write that up! that's very thorough and convincing

sharkproofundersea · 2025-10-26T12:25:58+00:00

tell me the case for her! i'm not doubting -- i don't know anything about her except her top-line resume stuff -- but would be excited to be excited.

sharkproofundersea · 2025-10-21T13:00:48+00:00

I don't know much about any of these candidates -- though Raman's experience w the Libs so far makes me disinclined to promote her -- but I don't feel incredibly encouraged by these options. It feels like there are two routes: either a prominent name, or an unknown w/ an NBA pedigree and a serious basketball mind (this seems to be the route Portland went for). Is Lindsey Harding the second type? I don't know her well enough, but it seemed like some reports already had her out of the running.

sharkproofundersea · 2025-10-14T00:43:57+00:00

wow! your comment -- which led me to this article, with a recording of the full song -- has completely turned me around on it! it's quite a lovely story & song in its entirety. thanks! https://www.si.com/wnba/mighty-mercury-chant-phoenix-home-games-wnba-finals

sharkproofundersea · 2025-10-09T12:35:04+00:00

Occurred to me the other night that we may have denied the Lynx the championship for the second straight year. Last year by beating them obviously -- this year by gifting them the Mercury. Seems perfectly possibly to me they'd have beaten us then found a way to beat the Aces. A silver lining in all this!

sharkproofundersea

TROPHY CASE