When you’re on the brink of elimination, there’s little room for sugarcoating. Witness Vickie Johnson.
“There is no other time,” the Liberty guard said. “There is only one thing, right now. We must win.”
It took just two hours Friday night for the Liberty to undo all the hard work that earned them the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Just two hours to get blitzed by the Indiana Fever for the worst loss in their playoff history, a 73-55 Game 1 clunker that puts them in danger of first-round elimination.
Game 2 in the best-of-three series is today at Madison Square Garden, and calling it a must-win isn’t cliched – just fact.
The Liberty can start their comeback road by simply putting the ball in the hoop a bit more, something they had trouble doing in Game 1. Crystal Robinson shot 3-of-9 and Tari Phillips was 3-of-10. Vickie Johnson? A miserable 1-for-7. That’s a lot of unkind iron.
Only center Tamika Whitmore had the touch, pouring in 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Still, it can’t be a good sign when your center posts that kind of production and isn’t even the most dominant Tamika on the floor.
That honor went to Indiana superstar Tamika Catchings, who destroyed the Liberty with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Said Liberty coach Richie Adubato of the league’s Rookie of the Year, “We had no answer for Catchings. None.”
But more than just shooting poorly and being exploited by Catchings, the Liberty continued to stumble around in their recent stupor. The club has lost five of its last six games now, all the while looking sluggish, slow and utterly discombobulated.
“We have to find a way, to get back to that place,” forward Crystal Robinson said, “where we truly play together as a team.”
As Whitmore noted, the Liberty have faced elimination games before, two alone in last year’s postseason. And it’s true that New York enjoys a distinct homecourt advantage, especially since the Fever are 0-4 in their short history at the Garden. Still, last year the Liberty were only 1-3 at home in the playoffs, meaning that staying alive will take more than just a change in uniform.
“I refuse to believe, and every player on this team refuses to believe, that this season is over,” said guard Becky Hammon. “This season is far from over.”
Maybe. But not as far as it used to be.
