The New York Liberty made it two straight. Thanks to another solid defensive effort, the Liberty edged the Atlanta Dream 79-74 Tuesday evening at the Prudential Center in Newark .
Possessions:
Atlanta 88
NY Liberty 85
Offensive Efficiency:
Atlanta 84
NY Liberty 93
Neither team posted a great efficiency. When you hold the opposition to an 84 mark, your defense has done the job and put your club in a great position to get the victory.
The Four Factors:
|
|
eFG
|
FT Rate
|
OREB PCT
|
TO Rate
|
|
Atlanta
|
39
|
22
|
27
|
17
|
|
NY Liberty
|
50
|
15
|
22
|
22
|
Exhibit A. The Dream were held to a subpar 39% eFG mark. The perimeter was not the answer as the visitors were limited to a 2 of 12 shooting performance from downtown. Liberty had too many turnovers, didn't force Atlanta into many on their end. And the rebounding is a concern. Still, Liberty coach John Whisenant has to be pleased with the defense, two straight victories and pulling out a game that featured 6 ties and 16 lead changes.
For the second consecutive game the Liberty received solid contributions from several players. Not all (or a great percentage of) Cappie Pondexter, but Plenette Pierson, Kia Vaughn and Leilani Mitchell as well.
|
|
Points
|
Efficiency
|
|
Pondexter
|
25
|
22
|
|
Pierson
|
10
|
12
|
|
Vaughn
|
15
|
14
|
|
Mitchell
|
15
|
18
|
The play of Mitchell has been impressive as of late. The Liberty guard out of Utah, shot 7 of 11 including 4 for 5 from beyond the arc. She added four assists and has emerged an important part of the offense. Speking of profiency from three, the Liberty shot 7 of 18 (39%) as a team, a contributing factor in their 50% eFG mark.
‘Esteemed' colleague Queenie hit the nail on the head regarding Kara Braxton The plus-minus breakdown showed Braxton with a mark of -11. That paced the Liberty in an area you do not want to lead. The best mark for New York was Cappie Pondexter's +9.
Angel McCoughtry paced Atlanta with 21 points and a 23 efficiency. Angel had a night of contrasts shooting 8 of 22 and committing 6 turnovers. On the positive side she grabbed 14 boards (including 6 offensive, both rebound totals game highs) and had 7 steals.
Martin Manley, the developer of the efficiency metric used by the NBA, WNBA and yours truly, now computes team efficiency. His study is in its ‘infancy' yet early results show, win your efficiency as a team and you probably win on the scoreboard. Last night's final team efficiency showed the Liberty with a 89-76 advantage. Another efficiency-scoreboard ‘sweep'.