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Liberty face another tough test against the Sky

By Brian Fleurantin
Chicago Sky v Atlanta Dream Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s that talent gap. The New York Liberty faced a tall task against the W’s best team, the Seattle Storm. And as expected, the Storm won in a blowout on Tuesday night. When you’re young and going up against the very best in the business, losses like these are bound to happen.

The opponent tonight will be the Chicago Sky. Chicago has been acquitting themselves well in the bubble and hope to go on a deep playoff run this time around. They’re coming off a great win against the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night.

Where to follow the game

CBS Sports Network is on the call. YES Network later in the night. Tip off after 7.

Injuries

No Sabrina Ionescu.

No word on if Cheyenne Parker is available for this one as she’s dealing with an ankle injury.

The game

These teams will play again next week Tuesday.

This is pretty groovy

Yeah it was a blowout, but Kia Nurse finally had a good shooting game. Nurse scored 21 points and went 7-14 from the field, including 4-8 from downtown. The team is going to need Nurse to start scoring to help them stay close and hopefully pull some upsets off. Coming into the year, she and Ionescu were expected to be a 1-2 scoring punch on the perimeter. Injuries have gotten in the way of that, but a good run from Nurse will help build some optimism for the second half of this season.

Diamond DeShields has been working her way back into tip top form after dealing with nagging knee injuries throughout the wubble experience. She’s looked pretty good in the past two games and has been consistently playing around 20+ minutes a night. The Sky have a lot of depth so James Wade can take his time and make sure she’s at full strength come playoff time.

This one might get a bit sloppy. The Liberty and Sky are one and two in turnovers committed in the bubble and with the fast tempo both squads play at (third and fourth in pace, respectively), there’ll be a lot of opportunities to score in transition.

Player to watch: Courtney Vandersloot

Tuesday was a special night for the former All Star. She was the first player in W history to have 15 points, 15 assists, and five rebounds in a single game. Vandersloot is one of the best guards in the sport and always manages to keep the Sky’s offense humming. Here’s more from the Aces’ Kayla McBride:

“(Vandersloot) is the best at what she does. I’ve played with her for three years overseas, so I know what she’s capable of. She’s the head of their snake, for sure. She gets everybody in the right spots.”

Jazmine Jones has been getting a lot of run at the point for the Liberty recently. She’s played 20+ minutes in four straight games and got more minutes than Layshia Clarendon in Tuesday night’s contest. As a duo, they’re rock solid and for Jones, every game is an opportunity to get better and more confident. Like everybody else in NY, Jones had a rough night against the Storm and committed seven turnovers, most of which were a result of her forcing the issue.

From the Vault

Last night, Kamala Harris gave her speech accepting her nomination as Vice President of the United States. Let’s take a trip back into time and watch the late Shirley Chisholm give a speech announcing her own candidacy for Presidency.

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