Breanna Stewart did not sugarcoat the situation after the New York Liberty watched Jonquel Jones leave Tuesday night’s 93-86 loss to the Chicago Sky with an ankle injury. The Liberty have been hit hard by injuries all season, and Jonquel Jones’ ankle injury comes right after star forward Satou Sabally was sidelined indefinitely due to lingering concussion issues. With the playoffs now just about seven games away, they will need all the healthy bodies they can get.
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Speaking in the postgame press conference following the game, a video of which was shared on the Liberty’s YouTube channel, Breanna Stewart addressed the challenge facing the team after Jones’ injury.
“It’s tough. Obviously, we hope JJ will be back quickly but honestly I think Han stepped up to the challenge pretty well. Cardoso is a tough guard and um she continued to kind of provide length on her.”
“As a team… we’ve been through this far too many times, and our response needs to be better. When one person goes down, we need to just be even better and have a next-one-up mentality.”
With the frontcourt completely depleted, head coach Chris DeMarco has been leaning heavily on Han Xu, while French guard Pauline Astier has also been asked to log heavy minutes this season. And as Stewart pointed out, Xu did step up to the challenge in that game, delivering 12 points and seven rebounds. While Stewart acknowledged someone like Han stepping up, she still feels there is more to be done in filling the gap left by Jonquel Jones.
Of course, it does look impressive how far the Liberty have come with a 22-15 record and sixth place in the league standings despite the injury issues that have plagued some of their key players this season. Players like Sabrina Ionescu have missed 12 games, Satou Sabally has been limited to just 13 games, key floor-spacer Leonie Fiebich has missed 21, and now Jonquel Jones is sidelined with an ankle injury.
However, while they have so far been able to fare relatively well despite these injuries, with the playoffs now right around the corner, their ability to continue competing without key pieces will really be tested. As Stewart said, Jonquel Jones will definitely return, even though no official timeline has been announced yet. But definitely, the upcoming FIBA World Cup break, which will last nearly three weeks starting August 31, will serve as a crucial window for this battered roster to heal before the playoffs begin.
Perhaps by the time the break is done, Jonquel Jones will be back, and maybe Satou Sabally, who has been ruled out indefinitely, will be back as well. But that seems unlikely, as she has actually taken an extended leave of absence from the New York Liberty to focus on recovering from a severe head injury.
For now, the Liberty can only hope that the injury break comes at the right time for a roster that has been pushed to its limits. With the playoffs approaching and Jonquel Jones now added to the list of absences, Stewart’s call for a stronger response from the entire team could prove more important than ever.