Expect some high-octane basketball at Barclays Center when the Atlanta Dream and the New York Liberty meet each other for the last game of the regular season. In her elite post-World Cup run, Angel Reese took a shot at the Liberty after the Dream beat them in the first of their back-to-back games, prompting a response from forward Leonie Fiebich.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
After the 95-84 win over New York at Barclays Center on Monday, Reese told reporters that the Liberty were tired and it was out in the open. In response, Fiebich vowed to close the regular season with a win over Reese’s team.
“Obviously, back-to-back is always hard, especially since we have more than half of the team coming off the World Cup, right?”
“It’s hard, but not an excuse. Physicality is going to go up, so we just got to play through it. We’re going to take on the challenge. They can feel good about the win. It’s good, cool for us. We’re gonna win the next one,” Fiebich told reporters, per Myles Ehrlich, the beat reporter for the Liberty.
It was the third game for both the Liberty and the Dream since returning from the World Cup break. Both teams had won their first two games. But it was the second of the back-to-back games for New York following a 37-point win over the Toronto Tempo on Sunday.
The Liberty had seven players from their roster participating in the World Cup, including three of their starters. Breanna Stewart (Team USA), Fiebich (Germany), and Pauline Astier (France) from the starters represented their countries.
The indirect exchange might have set the tempo for their last game on Wednesday. Additionally, the matchup will also have implications for the overall standings before the playoffs start.
With three back-to-back wins, Atlanta is officially challenging the Las Vegas Aces for the third seed. While both teams have already secured their playoff spots, a win on Monday will give Atlanta a chance to move up the standings and face a weaker first-round opponent. Moreover, with the loss on Monday, the Liberty have officially slid to the 8th spot. But a win on Wednesday will give them a chance to move higher up in the standings.
Confidence was beaming on Reese’s face during the postgame presser. When a reporter asked her about her matchup with center Jonquel Jones, Reese’s words reflected her post-World Cup run: a confident star who believes she is as good as anybody in the league.
“I admire JJ being a versatile post player who can shoot the three. She obviously challenges me…she’s obviously a good player, but I’m also a good player as well,” Reese said.
Reese led her team with 18 points and 10 rebounds while converting 7 of her 14 shot attempts from the field. She also added 2 assists and a block in 34 minutes.
The Dream star’s numbers in the last three games should concern the opponents. During this stretch, she has averaged 23.7 points and 10 rebounds and shot nearly 66% from the field. Reese has also intensified her game on the defensive end. She is also averaging 0.8 blocks per game.
In fact, seeing these numbers, Reese’s teammate Jordin Canada made a big claim about Angel Reese’s defensive ability.
“You see it every single game how she comes in. She brings that energy. She impacts both ends of the floor,” Canada told reporters. “I mean, personally, I think she’s Defensive Player of the Year. Just the way that she’s able to change the game, and you could tell from her energy. It runs through the whole team”
Reese is one of the frontrunners for the award, and her numbers back her up. Before the World Cup break, she led the league in opponents’ eFG% differential (-7.4%), TS% differential (-5.6%), and the opponents’ 2-pt FG% differential (-5.9%).
Just a small reminder that she also leads the league in rebounds per game (12.3). She is also ranked third in the league in steals per game (1.8).