September 22nd, 2024; New York Liberty defeat the Atlanta Dream 83-69 in game of the first round in the WNBA Playoffs Photo by. Brandon Todd/New York Liberty)
After sweeping the Atlanta Dream 2-0 in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, the New York Liberty will move on to face the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals.
The Aces, who are the No. 4 seed in the WNBA standings, also swept their first-round series against the Seattle Storm. For the semifinals and finals of the WNBA, the format changes to a best-of-five matchup compared to the first round, which was best-of-three. Given that the Liberty had clinched the No.1 seed with the best record in the WNBA, they will also receive home-court advantage for this series and beyond.
Here is a preview of what the schedule will look like for this matchup.
Liberty vs Aces 2024 WNBA semifinals schedule:
- Game 1: 3 pm ET Sunday, Sept. 29 at Barclays Center
- Game 2: (Time TBA) Tuesday, Oct. 1 at Barclays Center
- Game 3: 9:30 pm Friday, Oct. 3 at Michelob ULTRA Arena
- Game 4 (if necessary): (Time TBA) Sunday, Oct. 6 at Michelob ULTRA Arena
- Game 5 (if necessary): (Time TBA) Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Barclays Center
This semifinal matchup will be a rematch of the 2023 WNBA finals, where the Aces took down the Liberty in four games. The Aces, who are the fourth seed with 27 regular-season wins, haven’t had the same dominant season as last year, when they had the best overall record in the league with 34 wins. This is mainly due to the number of injuries they’ve been dealing with all season.
Aces guard Chelsea Gray had missed 12 games to start the year, and when she returned, she struggled to get back into rhythm, contributing to the Aces’ subpar first half. Despite not having the strongest start, the Aces have had a better second half, winning nine of their last 10 regular season games and sweeping their first-round opponents.
During the regular season, New York matched up against Las Vegas on three occasions, with New York winning all three games. However, Liberty fans shouldn’t assume this is going to be as easy as it was for New York in the regular season. In two of those three games between the two teams, a prominent player was injured for the Aces. But with the Aces fully healthy now, we’ll see a high-intensity matchup.
Battle of the guards matchup: Sabrina Ionescu vs Kelsey Plum
During this series, two key players to look out for are New York’s guard Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum. Ionescu has had a remarkable postseason run so far, averaging 26.5 points and seven assists in two games. She had a notable performance in the closeout game against Atlanta, scoring a career-high 36 points.
Ionescu will look to lead Liberty against the Aces again, but being guarded by Chelsea Gray will be a challenge as she’s known as a defensive specialist in Las Vegas’s backcourt.
New York will have to watch out for Plum, who, after having an uncharacteristic Game 1 performance, put up 29 points and six rebounds in the closeout game against Seattle. This Aces team has championship experience, having won the past two. Many of their players who have won in the finals know exactly what it takes to be successful in the postseason. Players like Plum have that winning mentality and experience, which gives them an advantage heading into the semifinals.
Battle of the MVP’s matchup: A’Ja Wilson vs Breanna Stewart
Another matchup to be aware of is the battle of the MVP’s.
Aces center A’Ja Wilson recently won her third MVP award this past season. As one of the best players in this league, the Liberty will need to find ways to limit her in this series. This postseason, she’s averaging 22.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks.
However, she’s not the only MVP in this matchup. Liberty forward Breanna Stewart also has two MVP trophies from 2018 and 2023. She has been leading the Liberty all season but has had a rather quiet postseason, averaging just 16.5 points in two games. The Liberty will look for major offensive and defensive production from Stewart, who struggled in last year’s 2023 finals against the Aces.
Given the depth of this team and the upsurge of Ionescu and Liberty center Jonquel Jones in the postseason thus far, the hopes are that even if Stewart struggles once again, it won’t take as much damage on the team win probability as it did last year.
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