- 1 hour ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:03Welcome back to another edition of Libby Lately. It's your boy Dexter Henry alongside the great
00:08women's sports reporter for the New York Post, Madeline Kenney. We are here. It is time for the
00:13season to tip off, so we got to do a season preview. Maddie, how are you doing? I'm doing
00:17great. I'm so ready for the season to get started, for basketball to matter, to really, you know,
00:23see what this team is capable of. You know what I love about the W is just two preseason games.
00:28We don't need too much of this basketball. You don't need anything more than two,
00:32I feel like. I agree. I feel like two is the perfect number. I agree. We always know that
00:36these games, you don't really put a lot of weight in it anyway, so it's kind of like they've,
00:40that's something that they do well in the W. I agree. Two is perfect. Like, I like that the
00:44NBA has cut it down from six to four. That's been nice, but like, we don't need to see too
00:49many of
00:50these games. So we've seen enough. We want to see the real basketball. That will start on Friday.
00:54Okay. We're recording this a couple of days away as we preview the season. And we talked about this
00:59last week, but now it's time to really, really get into the season. So we're going to have some
01:03fun on this episode. I think I have some good questions for Maddie that I want to hear her
01:07thoughts on. And then we're going to give you some predictions at the end. Both. I'm not going to
01:10leave Maddie out there on our own to make the prediction. I was going to say, you got to make
01:13them too. Don't make me the only one out here. No, we're going to do it together. We're a team.
01:17So
01:17we're going to do it together. I'm not going to leave Maddie out there just alone. I'm going to do
01:21this
01:21together. But Maddie, let's start with this because the Liberty, they enter the season as
01:25title favorites. Very different from last year. Does, how does them coming in as title favorites
01:31maybe shift the pressure compared to what we saw in 2025? Does it shift the pressure on this team
01:37at all in your eyes? I think yes, to a certain degree, because like last year they came in as
01:42the team to beat. They had the biggest target on their back. All of the sports cliches that you can
01:46say about a team that's defending their title, the Liberty had that and had to embrace that.
01:51And this year, that's the ACE's responsibility to be the defending champions, because there is a
01:57certain level of pressure every single night that comes with being a defending champion.
02:02Liberty this year are considered championship contenders there. And from a lot of the sports
02:08books, a favorite to win the championship. So there is pressure there and there's a lot of
02:11expectations, but you don't have that. You still have that target on your back. So I'm not going to act
02:16like there's not going to be teams gunning for them every single night, but it's just a different
02:20layer of that because you aren't the defending champion. You're not trying to win back-to-back.
02:25Everyone knows how hard it is to win back-to-back. Yeah. And the Liberty know that themselves,
02:30how hard it is to win back-to-back. But, and we'll get into this more later, but like the
02:35expectations obviously have changed, especially with adding Satu, when you look at the talent in
02:38their starting lineup, their projected starting lineup. Yeah, that does change things just a little bit,
02:44but it's going to be very interesting to see how that pressure maybe fluctuates throughout the
02:49season. Now, talked about the starting lineup. We know that Sabrina Nescue will miss the start of
02:54the season. Supposed to miss about two weeks, right, Maddie? That's the word, about two weeks
02:58that she'll miss. How does that change the Liberty's early identity, especially not having their lead
03:05guard out there now? And who takes on the primary creation role with Sav out for a couple of weeks?
03:11So I think the beauty of this roster is that it was built in a way that should withstand
03:16adversity as it comes. I don't think anyone expected the team to be dealing with adversity
03:20this early into the season, but you know what? It is what it is. You have to just own it
03:25and accept
03:25it. And so I think that there's a few different options that the Liberty can go. I also do want
03:30to
03:31note that Chris DeMarco, I believe, said today Rebecca Allen will not be playing on Friday. So that's
03:36another player that won't be available. Saw 2 wasn't at practice today, it sounds like, because
03:40she was sick. So that's also another thing to keep in mind. She did not play in either preseason games.
03:47Benajah, I think, is going to be limited to some, I'm not going to say like limited minutes
03:52necessarily, but she is also ramping up after missing all of last season. So there are a few
03:56moving pieces. The performance staff has its hands full early on with this team. And so I think that
04:03when we look at how are they going to be able to replace Sabrina, obviously you can't replace Sabrina.
04:07She is who she is, but they are going to look for different players to step up in her absence.
04:12And the
04:12one that I think is the most obvious one is definitely Pauline. We got to see her in her
04:17preseason debut against Connecticut. And she looks fantastic. She was so confident. She was so forceful.
04:24She really looked like she's been at this for a minute, you know, playing at the WNBA level. And obviously
04:30there's going to be a transition for her, right? She has played overseas professionally for several
04:35years, but coming into the WNBA, it's a different level of physicality. It's a different speed to a
04:40certain degree. It's a different, you're trying a different style and a new system. And so I think
04:45that there's going to be a learning curve there. But I think she's a player that I want to see
04:50step up
04:50Marine Johannes. Like she's not a true point guard, obviously, but, or, but she can, you know,
04:56she can handle the ball. And I think that she looks really great against Connecticut. And then I also
05:01think we're going to see a lot of points, Stewie, to begin the season.
05:04That, that will be, that will be very interesting. Look, can they survive this two week stretch
05:09without her? Yeah, I think so. And the schedule is not that tough. You and I talked about like this,
05:13if you're, if you're going to miss any part of the season, like this is right. This is the time.
05:18Yes. Right. This, this is the time you want it to happen. No, no, no. I, I, I agree.
05:22Wait, just as a follow-up, cause you mentioned Satu and we haven't seen her throughout the
05:27preseason. And then she, you know, Kristen Marco said on Wednesday that she's was out
05:32with illness from practice. Should we be concerned about the fact that we haven't seen her this
05:37season? Or we look at her, she's a veteran star that she's going to be fine once she is ready
05:41to
05:41go. I think that she's going to be fine when she's ready to go, but there is a layer of
05:46concern,
05:46just knowing that she didn't return to basketball activities until March. So not really,
05:52she's been out the last two games with what the team is calling reconditioning.
05:56So I'm curious to know, like, where is she at in the reconditioning process?
06:01Is she going to be on a minutes restriction? Is she going to be able to play in the home
06:04opener?
06:05Those are some questions that hopefully we'll get more answers to in the coming days. But I do think
06:10that there should be a level of like, yeah, she's a star. She, she's going to know what she's going
06:17to
06:17pick up where she left off to a certain degree, but she's also new to the system. She's trying to
06:21figure out carving out a role in an already established group of players when you have so
06:27much continuity within this roster. And so I think Satu, she's in a tricky spot to a certain degree,
06:33but she also is well-equipped to handle the position that she is in.
06:36Yeah. Very intrigued to see how she handles coming back and playing and how this Liberty team looks
06:40through the first couple of weeks. As we said, schedule, schedule's light. Liberty should,
06:45they should feast early on the season. Keyword is should. So we'll see how that goes.
06:49When you look at this team, Maddie, what new addition and or role player do you think can
06:56have the biggest impact early in the season? Is it a Pauline Astier because she can step into that
07:01point guard role and look so good? And I'm very high on her potential with this team, but is there
07:07a new additional role player that you're really looking at that can have a major impact on this
07:10team early on the season? Definitely Pauline, but you already said that, and we already kind of
07:15hashed that out. So another player that I want to throw out there is I'm really excited about Han.
07:20Yeah. We heard this from you last week. Yeah. We know. Yeah. You know, she looked really great
07:24in her first preseason game. That's the one that she really popped in, but I think I'm just excited
07:29to see her, you know, playing in like a legitimate WNBA game again, using her size to her advantage,
07:36exploiting some of the mismatches and stuff. I think that her ability to space the floor while also
07:41being six foot 11 is something that gives the Liberty a real edge. And so I'm really excited to
07:46see what is she going to look like early on in this season, especially because you have to remember
07:50the Liberty are down to other players. There's no Leonie Feebush and there's no Raquel Carrera
07:55and Carrera is, you know, a four or five. And so Han's probably going to be relied on a little
08:00bit
08:00more early in the season, just because she'll be being the backup JJ minutes for a lot of it.
08:07But obviously Stewie, you have a few players that give you some versatility and can play
08:11multiple positions and help alleviate some of that pressure that Han might feel or
08:15be relied to, to a certain degree, but I'm, I'm excited to see her.
08:19Yeah. And I'm also really excited to see, particularly before Leonie and Raquel come
08:23back, just how Chris DiMarco, you know, uses her with different lineups, right? Like who,
08:28who is he going to pair her with? Will we see her play some of those backup five minutes? Will
08:31she be paired in some of those minutes with other bench players with Stewie on the floor? You know,
08:35that's going to be, well, we see the jumbo lineup. I mean, we see the jumbo lineup again.
08:39There's so many opportunities, so many opportunities, so many options that the Liberty have
08:43this season. I wonder if this is going to be the same player that you're going to answer
08:48my next question, but who do you think is going to be the breakout player for this Liberty team in
08:542026? And if you're going to talk about that player or whoever, it could be Han. It could be
08:59drinking the Han juice here. It could be Han. What does that breakout look like for you with this
09:03player if they're to break out in this 2026 season? I mean, I already said Han, so I don't
09:09want to like spend too much time. See Maddie, this is why I like it. I like it. You're not
09:13going to
09:14give me the repeat answers. I like it. Yeah. Like, I mean, I think there's a lot of overlap with
09:17some
09:17of these answers, but I'm going to go with a player that we haven't seen yet. And that's Raquel
09:21Carrera, because I'm really excited about the potential of her and what she can do for this team.
09:26Um, she's obviously playing high-level basketball with Valencia alongside Leonie Feebich. There is
09:31familiarity with her, um, which, which should bode well. Um, the team is, you know, it's going to be
09:38a challenge. It's going to be an adjustment learning period for when she does get here. Um, Leo is going
09:43to be going through the same type of, uh, learning pains to a certain degree of mastering a new system
09:50and everything, but I'm really excited about the potential that Raquel will bring this season. And,
09:55and what does that look like? I mean, I'm not, I think that it kind of just looks like her
09:59playing meaningful minutes, right. And being that, uh, segue from starters to being able to carry that
10:08momentum until the next time that they're back in the lineup and just being able to be like a
10:13net positive player when she's on the floor. And so I think that that's, that's, that's probably the
10:19player I'd pick since we've already talked about a few other players that I'm pretty high on.
10:23See, I'm a preacher. I'm really appreciative of this with Maddie. She did not give you the
10:27repeat answers and I, and listen, Raquel Carrera can play. We know she can play. Like you said,
10:31she's playing high level basketball. She can give you some size. You just, you want her to be a
10:35net positive when she's on the floor, right? If Stewie's off the floor, JJ's off the floor,
10:40you'd like to see that. Um, in the previous episode, we talked about Chris DeMarco and we talked a lot
10:47about the offense under Chris DeMarco, right? Like that's got a lot of attention. Like what's the
10:52offense going to look like under coach DeMarco? The defense for the Liberty, when you look at
10:57the last season was middle of the pack, right? It was six. They were six in defensive rating
11:01in the W last year. Do you expect that defense to hold with the additions they've made to this
11:07roster? Do you expect it to improve or do you think it's going to take a step back? Do you
11:11think
11:12this team will be better the same or worse defensively this season? I think the expectation
11:16is that it's going to be better defensively. Um, and I think that there's a few reason for that.
11:20Uh, one Brianna Stewart is healthy and looks like, and if from anything that we can gather,
11:26I know this is insane to say in the preseason, but looks like an MVP caliber talent. I mean,
11:33she doesn't just look, we know that she is, but I'm saying that like, she is somebody that I picked
11:37in my early season predictions to be an MVP this season because of how good she's looked. And so,
11:43you know, you have her healthy, you have so much size and length in this, this roster and the,
11:48the players that they brought in. Um, you have athletic wings, you have, I just feel like
11:53defensively, this team seems, uh, better equipped to defend better. Um, and I think also just maybe
12:01some of the like principles that they're installing or just kind of making sure that this team is
12:06better communicating. I feel like communication on the defensive end was something that was an
12:11reoccurring issue for the team last year. Um, and just making sure that everyone's on scene in
12:15sync. Um, because obviously it's defense is one of those things that has to perform like an orchestra,
12:21like everyone has to be on the same page at the same time. And, and that's the beauty of good
12:26defense. But I do think, um, this team should be better than it was a year ago. And if it's
12:33not,
12:33then that's obviously a cause for concern for a team that wants to contend for a championship.
12:38Yeah, that will be a cause for concern. If people remember a lot of the episodes,
12:41a lot of the post game shows we did last year, Maddie, we talked about, especially late in the
12:45season communication. That was a word you constantly brought up, right? The communication
12:49wasn't there defensively. We saw a lot of stuff with that. That wasn't good. So if you think the
12:53defense is going to be better, we know the offense is going to be different this season.
12:59So in your eyes, what does good Liberty basketball look like at their best this season?
13:03We'll, we'll be like, Hey, this team looks great. And they're really rolling. Maybe almost like we
13:09saw last year with the nine and O start, but like what in your eyes is good Liberty basketball look
13:14like this season? I mean, a nine and O start would be good Liberty basketball. Am I right?
13:18But I don't think good versus realistic. I think realistically, there's going to be some bumps
13:23early on, especially with, there are players that are still not here yet. And obviously Sabrina's
13:29starting the season injured and, and all these different things. And so I think that early on,
13:34there's going to be kind of games that they're going to win on their talent alone. And they're
13:39going to lean in on that. And I think the biggest thing is good Liberty basketball is going to be
13:44showing progress over the course of the season to make sure that once the playoffs come around,
13:49everyone knows what they're expected to do. Everyone is playing cohesively. There's good team
13:56chemistry. The ball is humming. It's not getting stuck. They're not turning the ball over, which
14:00was obviously a problem in their first preseason game, which was to be expected. Again, I'm not
14:04trying to, you know, dog on anyone, but, but I think that it's just what, if you're cold, when you're
14:11assessing this team, you want to see this team continue to improve and not take steps back. And,
14:17and yeah, you're going to have games where the team doesn't have it that night. Right. But it's about,
14:22are they stringing along good possession after good possession? Are they stringing together good
14:27games? And so I think that's, that's the biggest thing that would show me that, okay, we're seeing
14:31good Liberty basketball. Yeah. Hopefully we do see some of that good Liberty basketball. Yeah. I'll
14:35sign for that 9-0 start as well too. I'm sure the team will there. So when at the top
14:40of this
14:41conversation, when I asked you about, has the pressure shifted to the Liberty this year, right? With
14:47their expectations. And I want to ask you this, cause when you look across the W, you know,
14:53the aces are the defending champions who you, you mentioned here, right? And there's some people
14:58that say they should be the favorites, you know, they should. And I kind of read that the champs are
15:02the champs until they're dethroned. So I guess two part question here, are the Liberty truly clear title
15:09favorites, Maddie? And also who's the biggest threat to them in terms of them getting a title
15:16this season? Is it the aces? Is it somebody else? Who do you look at the biggest threat to Liberty
15:20this
15:20season? Yeah. I mean, when you look at the Liberty's off season move, adding saw two, I mean, that,
15:26I think that's what elevates them, right? They won a championship with their big three. Now you're
15:31adding another all-star into that picture. You have Benajah back. Leo's going to be here. And so
15:37there's this, this is a loaded roster. And so that's why a lot of the sports books are favoriting
15:42the Liberty is because of just how the talent alone, again, bringing in a new coach who has
15:51never coached in the WNBA before and an entirely new coaching staff and everything has been kumbaya
15:57at camp, which is all great and fun. But how is that going to look when the storm inevitably hits
16:04the
16:04team at some part of the season, which always happens? And so I think that yes, the Liberty are
16:10title favorites based on roster alone and the talent alone. Can that change over the course of the
16:15season? Of course, it probably will change over the course of the season as we see all these different
16:19teams and what they're going to look like with their different roster constructions and how they're
16:23playing and everything like that. Again, the aces last season started, had a really rough start to the
16:29season. And then they were able to win the championship. And so I think that as we look
16:34throughout the course of the season, of course, there's going to be moments where the Liberty are
16:37the clear title, title favorite. There's gonna be moments when the aces are, there's going to be
16:40moments maybe when the dream are maybe the fever. I mean, the fever, we're knocking on the doorstep
16:45of a finals without Caitlin Clark and with a load of other injuries. And so I think this,
16:53this is a, this is the why sports is so fun because there's, it's always going to change.
16:57It's always in flux. And so, and then to answer your second part of the question, who's the biggest
17:04threat to the Liberty? I mean, it would probably be aces, duh, because they're the team to beat this
17:11season and they won what three of the last four or whatever. So aces, obviously they also are
17:20bringing back a team that looks very similar to a year ago. And they also have Kennedy Carter coming
17:25off the bench, which is a scary thought considering she was one of the best scorers in the league
17:31two years ago. And so aces dream. I'm really excited about the dream this year. I might even
17:38be a little too high on the dream, but I don't care. I really liked the idea of what they're
17:42doing,
17:42bringing Andrew recent this season. I think that she's getting put into a system that might allow
17:47her to thrive to a certain degree in a way that she wasn't able to in Chicago. And so I'm
17:56excited
17:57to see what that's going to look like. And if Angel does take that next step, is that team like
18:03a true title contender, a true threat to both these teams? I think so. And then Indiana fever.
18:10I mean, Stephanie White's one of the best coaches in the game and Caitlin Clark is healthy and feeling
18:16good. They're at full strength right now. So if they can stay healthy, I think that that team is
18:25going to be pretty scary. Yeah. I think they could be scary too. They have a lot of continuity. You
18:29got Kelsey Mitchell. You got Aaliyah Boston who could take an even further leap with her game.
18:35I'm a little concerned about them defensively, but- Defensively, you're concerned with them.
18:39Okay. You know, it's funny you mentioned Atlanta and I don't know, I wouldn't disagree with you
18:44that I think you're too high on them. I think a lot of it does come down to Angel Reese,
18:48right? And
18:48maybe her ability and what she can do on the boards, getting second chance opportunities for
18:53if she takes a leap, I think you were trying to talk about her offensively, right? Like-
18:57Yeah. Like being a little bit more efficient and stuff like that.
19:00If she can do that, that's going to take some pressure off Irene Howard. And then
19:04you're feeling better about Atlanta and what they can do for sure.
19:07And Atlanta was a great rebounding team a year ago. So you just got like one of the
19:11league's best rebounders. So to already a good rebounding team. I mean, that team's going
19:15to be hard to get a rebounder from.
19:17It shows you this couple that you just mentioned two teams in the East that are going to be
19:22there to challenge the Liberty and they're going to be looking forward to play. I'm sure
19:26when we're previewing those games, listen, Atlanta comes into New York and Nick's or the
19:29Nick's, excuse me, Liberty, it's Nick's easy here. Liberty played them down in Atlanta.
19:33Atlanta, they're going to be focused on that. They're going to want to come in, especially
19:37in all the talent that we have. Teams are going to be gunning for the Liberty just because
19:40of their stature the last couple of years, what they've done, talent, what they've added
19:44to the roster. Yeah. So it's, it's not going to be easy. And I think that's where you and
19:48I agree a lot. This isn't going to be a walk in the park as maybe I think some fans
19:53might
19:53think, right? The talented team, but it's not going to be a walk in the park, especially
19:56at first. I'll do it.
19:58And there were, there were issues to last year's team. I mean, there's a lot of roster continuity,
20:02which is great, but you know, there are some habits that were built and that will have
20:06to be deconstructed and rebuilt in a different way. And so I think that's going to be something
20:11that's going to be a challenge for the coaching staff, especially early on and players to relearn
20:16certain things. Also, we just talked about rebounding. So just to touch on that really
20:21quick, the Liberty were not a good rebounding team last year. They were last in the league
20:25in offensive rebounds and second chance points. And so I think that that's another area that
20:31you, you are hoping to see the team take that like next step this season and maybe put like
20:36a little bit more of a focal point on making sure that you are going after the rebound,
20:40also communicating when you're going after rebounds, you're not trying to take a rebound
20:43from your own teammate. Cause that definitely happened during like a preseason game.
20:47Yeah. That, that would help a little bit of communication would help. So with all that
20:51being said, we've talked about that being title favorites or not, or who else is going to challenge
20:56them? Oh, what's a successful season look like for the Liberty? Is this, is it finals or bust?
21:02Is it championship or bust? What, what's successful season for the Liberty in 2026?
21:09I think a successful season for the Liberty is finals, but this team thinks that is championship
21:16or bust. Um, nobody wants to get to the finals and lose. And so I think that, yeah, that that's
21:21the expectation. This is a team that has ever since the size have taken over it. And you know,
21:28they started to put together this quote unquote, super team. It has been about winning championships
21:34and they've won a championship, but now it's about adding that S. And so I think that, uh,
21:40yeah, this team is, it's gunning for a championship. And I think anything short of
21:44a championship is going to be a disappointment. Yeah. I said, I think so. I like that being
21:48a standard for a team. I have no problem with that at all. I'm also with you. I think it's
21:53finals
21:53or bust. Cause I'm going to respect if it's aces in the finals or somebody else they get to
21:57that they can be beaten. I respect that, but it's hard to win the first year of a
22:03new coach. You know, I think that that is insane expectations for a first year head coach who
22:10again has not coached in the WNBA, uh, is coming and trying to implement a totally different thing,
22:16overhauling an offense. Like, I just think that, uh, but Hey, I think they're embracing it. So who am
22:23I to say don't embrace the championship or bust expectations? Yeah, you should. It's I do agree that
22:28that's hard. It, I think the path to it can be a little easier with the right personnel.
22:34Yeah. And you need a lot of things to go right though. Right. Maddie. Like you need a lot of
22:38things to click and the team to be able to get through the adversity. Do the Liberty have that
22:43personnel? I think so, but we don't know what it looks like when they hit that adversity, right?
22:48That's something we have to see that we have to watch for ourselves. This team at its core,
22:53its core group of players has gone through adversity. It's won a championship together. It can
22:57clearly weather that type of storm last year, all the injuries. I feel like there was a part where
23:02they just started not feeling bad for themselves. And they kept being like, no injuries can't be an
23:07excuse, but there was also that like little subliminal underlining feeling that we're just
23:15injured. We're just like, you know, one player comes back and another player gets injured. Like
23:19that can be a little demoralizing to a team to a certain degree. And so I think that this year,
23:25you know, you're coming back, yes, not starting the season healthy, not starting the season at full
23:29strength, far from ideal, but there is a new found excitement, um, energy in the building.
23:38And so I think that all in all there, that is the feeling championship or bust.
23:44Championship or bust. You heard it from Maddie. She's got that there. We'll see that. Oh,
23:48at least that's how the team feels about it. Maddie thinks it's finals or bust.
23:51Team feels like the championship or bust. Two, two different things here. All right,
23:54before we get out of here, let's, let's have some fun with predictions and just to let everybody know,
23:59I'll be making predictions too. I'm not leaving Maddie out on the island here. As I said,
24:02we're going to do some predictions here. All right, Maddie, what's your boldest
24:07Liberty prediction for this season? Give me something that you think would shock the people,
24:13that people might not see coming or happening. I mean, I don't know if this is going to shock
24:16people, but, and I already kind of, I guess, touched on it earlier, but Brianna Stewart, MVP,
24:22she's going to, she's going to win the MVP race this year. I just think that she's coming in healthy.
24:27She's coming in strong. She's I've yeah, she's my MVP, my early MPV vote.
24:34So I'm not, I'm not pushing back on you, but what I'm going to say, it's because it's a bold
24:39prediction. You can predict whatever you want. I don't, what I care. Some people will look at
24:42Brianna Stewart. And it's funny because you and I have talked about this last year. You're like,
24:45ah, her shooting was a little bit off, particularly from three point land. Um,
24:50she hasn't shot the ball as well. She wasn't as efficient. Now, some of that could be health.
24:54She shot well in the, in unrivaled playoffs and in the preseason.
24:58She looked good and unrivaled. I, I agree. And in the preseason,
25:02now you kind of alluded to this early earlier, healthier, right? She doesn't not maybe ask to
25:09carry as much of the load on this team, right? Maybe not as much attrition as she's had the last
25:13couple of years. I think one of the pushbacks will be the, do the Liberty have too much talent
25:18on their roster that she may not have statistics that are gaudy enough for MVP.
25:24Yeah. I mean, that's, that's very valid. And that is part of the sacrifice that
25:28players who want to join forces at this caliber have to sacrifice. Right. Um, and so I think that
25:38that's a really good point, but I will say that this, this offense just seems like it's really geared to
25:43a player of Brianna Stewart's style. Um, and so I think that that it's going to open up more opportunities
25:49for her to score, to facilitate. And so, and I think defensively, again, if she's fully healthy
25:55and is feeling good and strong, she's one of the league's better defenders.
26:01I like that. I like, I like that pick. Okay. I was thinking about my bold pick.
26:07I'm here. You're clapping for this. I've been thinking a lot about something around John Quill.
26:12Okay. Because I, I think John Quill last year was a down year for her and she battled with some
26:17injuries. Um, I think she's going to bounce back. I think sometimes people forget how good she is
26:23defensively. I'm not going to say she's going to win this award, but I'm going to say that I think
26:29she finishes top three in defensive player of the year voting. Um, I think people forget how good
26:36she's defensively, how good she can switch. If I'm going to take play a little bit off of your,
26:41your bold prediction. If we think that Brianna Stewart is going to be back at MVP level,
26:46if we acknowledge all the talents that Liberty have in this team around them, and we, and I think
26:50you and I both agree this team should take a jump defensively, right? If this team is a top three
26:55defensive team and John Quill's a part of that and she's anchoring, she's finishing possessions by
26:59getting rebounds, which we know she's, we know the numbers with her. Yeah. She's super capable of doing
27:04that. I think you can start looking at her as one of these best defensive players, especially as a big,
27:10who can switch on the perimeter, can guard, you know, one through five, or at least one through
27:13four. Um, and it's really good, really good at that. I think she's primed to have a good defensive
27:18season. I think she can rack up some more blocks this year. I think she'll knock it on wood as
27:22long
27:22as she's healthy. I think she's a top three defensive player of the year candidate. That's my bold
27:27prediction for her to bounce back a little bit. It's fine. I think with JJ, what I need to see
27:33happen is just like that consistent level of effort and that consistent level of like bringing
27:38at every single possession and not taking, you know, stretches off. And she's more than capable
27:44of doing that. Obviously, I think, again, she was playing on a bum ankle last year, eventually had to
27:50get surgery on it after the season. And so, you know, clearly she was dealing with some discomfort,
27:56which maybe limited her ability. But I think that if you see that consistent level from JJ night in,
28:03night out, no, no possessions often, definitely possible. Yeah, I'm that's something that is
28:09possible. It's bold. You need that consistency is bold, but you know, we'll see. Okay, I like our
28:14bold picks. Uh, you said you have Stewie for MVP of the league. So I guess my next question was,
28:20who's going to be the maybe it's different for you, who will be the most valuable Liberty player
28:24this season? Is it Stewie? Is it somebody else?
28:29It's going to be Stewie, but I want to change it just because I don't want the redundancy.
28:33Um, so let's say Stewie is disqualified from this conversation, but, but I, I think that's a good
28:43question. I think the player that I think is going to sneakily
28:52be extremely impactful is if I'm going for somebody off the bench.
28:58I think you're going to steal my answer. I would feel you're going to steal my answer.
29:00Wait, you say yours first. You say yours first.
29:02So my MVP for this season prediction is Benajia Lainey-Hamilton.
29:07You did.
29:08All right, so go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.
29:10Do you want to hear why?
29:12Yeah. Oh, tell me why.
29:13Okay. So for me is I think they, I think they missed her a ton last year.
29:18I think they missed her a ton. I think they missed, I think she's the Liberty's best intangibles
29:22player. Uh, I love what she brings on defense and the, she's a good three D player. She can hit
29:28the three. I just think she's sort of the glue of this team. I, I, I really do. Um, I
29:34know you're
29:34talking about there's a world in which she could come off the bench. Um, depending what Krista
29:39Marker does with the rotation when Leona Feebich gets back. Yeah. We talked about this in the last
29:42episode or yeah. Yeah. And, and so that's what I was thinking is that like Benajia was like the glue
29:47player last year. And obviously she's assuming that she's going to be ready to go and everything
29:51at the beginning of the season. Um, she'll be starting until Leo gets here. And then when
29:56Leo gets here, she might continue to start because again, I don't think that you necessarily disrupt
30:01a lineup's cohesion just for the sake of doing something different. Right. Um, but, but my thing
30:09about Benajia is she was so missed last year and you felt it and it's like the leadership,
30:18but some of the like things that you don't see on the basketball court necessarily, but it shows up
30:23in practice. It shows up behind the scenes. It shows up in the locker room. And so I think, um,
30:29that is why she would be the MVP, but for the sake of picking someone other than what you pick,
30:35you could, you could, you could rock with me on this, man. I agree with you, but if we want
30:40just
30:40like one other name to throw out there, um, then I would pick Leo. I just feel like she,
30:46my thing with her is that last year she always comes to camp or she always joins the team,
30:51like exhausted. Like she plays this long overseas season. She comes to camp and she last year,
30:58like, you know, not only did she come and, uh, play and then she went to Euro basket,
31:06which was gone for three weeks and she touches down and then like plays a game like a few nights
31:10later. Like she like literally did not take any days off and was just exhausted by the end of the
31:15season. And so I think with Leo, if she's coming off the bench, especially, I think that she is going
31:21to be that like sixth player of the year type person. And we all know how valuable that player is.
31:26Um, doesn't always show up with these like huge numbers in the box score, but I think the way that
31:32she can defend and which obviously there's no great defensive statistics out there to like point
31:38to and be like, see, she's a good defender. Um, but I do think, you know, when we're talking about
31:44like valuable players, she's going to come in and play like 20 plus minutes and be like a very
31:51important player. So I agree with Benajah.
31:55I also take Leo just because for the case of being different case of being different.
32:00Oh, one other thing I wanted to add on Benajah and it goes back to, I don't know,
32:04it was a couple of episodes ago we did when you were talking about what her contract could look
32:08like. And you had done some good reporting on that and talked about this was before she was signed
32:12and you called the contract that she got. And I would agree with this. It's a prove it contract.
32:16And so at her age and the contract she got and, you know, the Liberty, you know,
32:21showing some loyalty to her. Could she probably have gotten more had she been healthy last year?
32:24Sure. I believe that, but I think she's motivated to still get maybe the last multi-year deal
32:29of her career. Maybe it's possible here going forward. I always like a player when they're
32:34motivated. I think she's motivated too. I think you're spot on about the intangibles. You mentioned
32:39with her too. I couldn't agree with you more Maddie and yeah, we'll see. But Leo, that's a good pick
32:44though. She's got a lot of value. She guard one, two, three. She's a really dope defender. Yes,
32:48you're right. Not a great contract as well. Like when we're talking about like, she's going to get
32:52paid value and you know what they bring versus how much they're getting like dollar amount. Yeah.
32:58She's just like on the, one of the best contracts in the league. Absolutely. But absolutely. No,
33:02no doubt about that. Okay. Final call for both of us here. All right. This is the ultimate
33:07prediction. Ultimate prediction. Where does this team finish in 2026? How does the 2026 story end
33:13for the New York Liberty? What, what do you, what do you say? Give me your, so do two things
33:17here.
33:18Give me your regular season record prediction. Where do you think they're going to finish in the
33:23standings and where will they be done at the end? Where will they be done at the end of the
33:27season?
33:28Are they getting bounced in the first round? Are they winning at all? What do you say?
33:32I think that they are going to finish third in the standings. Third in the standings. Okay.
33:38Okay. And that is because, uh, again, they're playing for October. They're not playing for,
33:46and like the regular season is still important. So like, I'm not trying to say that they're not
33:49taking the regular, not being that person. I'm not being that person. I'm not saying that they're
33:52not going to take the regular season. Right.
33:54I'm curious because they are, but I'm just thinking, uh, you have a new coach, new system,
33:59new everything, figuring out the fit of saw two, who I don't think is going to be an issue,
34:04but also bringing in players like when Raquel and Leo get there. And there's just like a lot of
34:08moving parts. And so I think what's your, what's your record? What, what record do you have for
34:13them finishing third wins? Um, I gotta do the math in my head to make sure 44 game season.
34:21I know. I was like, I was like, I don't want to like end up saying like a record that
34:24adds up to
34:25like 47 or something. Um, I think we've, we've had Maddie be a GM on the show. We've had to
34:32do,
34:32do, uh, advanced salary cap stuff like 30 and 14. So 30 and 14 or 29 and 15 or 29,
34:4415,
34:45but either or that'll be good. You think, okay. So going with that for third. Okay.
34:49Okay. Yeah. Okay. And I think, uh, and I, I have this in my prediction. I think I picked like
34:56Liberty winning in the finals. So I am not, I'm not a Homer, but I just, I think I see
35:03the potential
35:04with this group. And as much as I know that it's a difficult to win in the first year of
35:09a new head
35:10coach, I just think that this team is so talented. And if they can put, if Chris can maximize this
35:14talent group, I just, I don't know if anyone can, can match it. So I like, I'm going a little
35:23bit
35:23better than you record wise and I'll have them finishing second in the standings, which is going
35:31to be, I think it's going to be a race though for it. I'm going to go 32 and 13.
35:35Okay. So a couple
35:36more games, a couple more games. I'll go 32 and 13. Wait, I don't think that math is mathing.
35:41Sorry. That's sorry. That math isn't, I'm 32 and 12. Here we were worried about you with the math
35:47and the math was not mathing for me. 32 and 12. Sorry about that. That is 44 games, not 32
35:53and 13.
35:54Um, 32 and 12 I'll go with, um, is there a world I can see that being better? Yes, but
36:00I don't think they're going to go this hard for wins or like a best record in the league. Um,
36:07I just don't see it. I, I, could I see them finishing third? Sure. I think this is a team
36:12that can win around or get to the finals and not have home court advantage and they'll be fine.
36:16Um, so I'm going with them second in W and I also am going to go with them winning. I'm
36:20going to predict them to win as well too. Like you, I think there's a world in which I always
36:25hate saying that. Cause it's like, I say this, does everybody believe in like
36:30alternate universes and worlds and sliding doors and all, we say that phrase all the time.
36:33Oh, totally. Yeah. Like I kind of, I don't know if everybody shows up like that. Yeah.
36:37Yeah. Um, I think that this is a team that is going to end up truly playing their best. There's
36:45a,
36:45there's a world again, that Chris DiMarco has this team really gelling and these ladies figure it out
36:51more. I don't think it's going to be a struggle season. I think there'll be points of adversity,
36:55but I think there's a world in which they're playing better as we get to September and we get to
37:00the playoffs and again, October and you're like, okay, this team really looks good. They know who
37:06they are offensively and defensively. And I'm going to pick them. I'm going to, I think it's,
37:12I think we were on course for another aces and Liberty in the finals matchup. I think it'd be a
37:18fantastic series and I'll pick the Liberty to win there. I'm listen, I feel, you know, who knows?
37:23We might be doing an episode in June and like these predictions look silly. Um, who knows,
37:28but I'm going to pick the Liberty to win. I think they're most talented roster. I think they have
37:31the deepest roster and I think they have the roster that's prime to have some players break out that
37:36people might not see or undervalue. Um, whether it's career, whether it's ST air, like, I think
37:43these players are going to surprise. I think Jonathan Cole did a good job of finding some ladies that can
37:48help them win on the margins. And, um, I think that's going to matter for the Liberty.
37:53Yeah. And if we're right, we're going to look like geniuses. And if we're wrong,
37:56we'll just act like this video never happened. We'll never talk about the season preview episode
38:00of Liberty. We'll just, if you don't say anything about it, Maddie, if you don't say anything about
38:06it, I won't. We'll never refer to this episode. We'll just let it go. But there you go. Those are
38:12our predictions. Predictions you got from Madeline Kenny predictions for me. Season starts for the
38:16Liberty on Friday and their home opener. Unfortunately, I will not be in the building. Um, I'm not sure how
38:22much I'm going to get to watch because I'm going to be doing a live next watch party, but I
38:24will be
38:25having my eye on it. Maddie will have you all covered on that before she then gets out onto
38:30the road. Uh, we'll have more coming for you next week. Maddie will figure out how to connect when
38:34you're on the road. We'll do something, um, and figure it out. See, Maddie's racking up those miles
38:38again. We told you about this last year. Maddie's always on the road, racking up those miles.
38:42That's how you got to do. Uh, Maddie, enjoy the opener. Um, we'll talk, uh, next week. And to everybody,
38:48we'll see you in another episode of Liberty Lately. Thank you.
38:51Peace.
Comments