Game 2 Preview: Portland Fire vs New York Liberty
Meet the New York Liberty, and the game's biggest storylines, in this piece
Saturday’s season opener - the first regular season game in the history of the WNBA expansion franchise Portland Fire - was a night of firsts.
Now, the Portland can focus on the long grind of their first season.
Here are three things I’m thinking about in the build-up to Tuesday night’s tussle with the New York Liberty.
Sabrina Ionescu’s Oregon homecoming will have to wait.
Oregon’s big three of Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, and Satou Sabally is indescribable unless you lived through it. Before their arrival in Eugene, crowds numbered in the double digits. After their arrival, they were like rockstars, selling out Matthew Knight Arena regularly and inspiring generations of fans.
Ionescu, 28, is the biggest star of the group. In the W, the former All-American has racked up four All-WNBA Second Team honors, four all-star nods, two WNBA Three-Point Shootout crowns, and two legacy-altering titles: the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, and the 2024 WNBA championship.
Ionescu last played at Moda Center in the 2019 Elite Eight, playing on the Ducks’ first ever Final Four team. Unfortunately, her long awaited return has been delayed by an ankle injury sustained at the start of May.
Fellow Duck Satou Sabally - who signed with the Liberty in free agency - is also expected miss time with a lingering injury.
This is a tale of two teams.
The unbeaten Liberty (2-0), arrive in Portland to face the winless Fire (0-1) in a fascinating matchup between at opposite ends of the sport. New York boasts an experienced roster, and a traditional play-style. Portland is exceptionally young - 7 of the Fire’s players have less than 1 year of previous WNBA playing experience - and plays Alex Sarama’s radical Constraints Led-Approach, a system which emphasizes perimeter spacing and three point shooting.
Anything can happen, especially with Ionescu’s injury, but the Fire might need to wait for their first win.
What changes will the Fire make in game 2?
As previously stated, Portland’s roster is young. Their coaching staff - led by the league’s youngest head coach, the 30 year old Sarama - is young. This is an expansion team playing in it’s second ever regular season game, and it’s fourth game overall. Expect adjustments: new rotations, new sets, and other fresh changes to a team figuring out how to win in it’s first season.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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