Liberty no longer have luxury of waiting for injured stars to get healthy

ATLANTA — When Sandy Brondello pulled the tape to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Dream, it reminded her of the harsh reality of the Liberty’s circumstance this season.

“When I go back and watch the last Atlanta game, Nyara [Sabally] started,” Brondello said Saturday. “There’s no continuity that we can build on.”

Brondello has been around the game of basketball for a long time.

This is her 13th WNBA season as a head coach.

But never had she experienced a disadvantageous season quite like this one.

The Liberty haven’t been at full strength since the second game of the season.

It seems like every time they get a star player back, another one goes down.

Emma Meesseman, who signed with the team earlier this month, has yet to share the court with Breanna Stewart or Sabally.

For Saturday’s loss in Atlanta, the Liberty played without two of their starters — Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu — and used their 13th different starting lineup.

The Liberty have been frustratingly inconsistent all season.

But it’s reflective of the team’s hodgepodge lineups because of all the injuries.

The frontcourt has taken the most hits.

Sabally has missed 22 games, Stewart 13, Jonquel Jones 12 and Isabelle Harrison nine.

The injuries have strained those who are healthy, and fatigue is widespread.

Some players are playing through the pains of the grueling schedule, including Leonie Fiebich, who injured her right hand July 26 and has played 13 games in 28 days since.

The Liberty thought things were bad without Jones.

But Stewart’s absence over the past month has perhaps hurt them even more.

The Liberty’s defensive rating before her injury was 97.2.

But since she went down with the bone bruise, the team’s defensive rating ballooned to 106.8, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league since July 26.

Stewart is one of the team’s most versatile defenders.

If Jones is the team’s defensive anchor, Stewart is the rope connecting it.

She acts on instincts and experience.

She knows when to help on a drive or cover a roller when another teammate trails behind.

She makes defense easier for the team.

Stewart is also one of the team’s better rebounders, averaging 6.8 boards per game.

Also, few players get to the free-throw line more than Stewart.

She attempts six freebies per game, the third-highest average in the league behind A’ja Wilson (7.6) and Kelsey Plum (6.1).

Over the past six games, the Liberty have attempted a league-low 86 free throws.

Opponents have taken 49 more than the Libs, which is the league’s largest discrepancy in that stretch.

A lack of foul discipline because of shoddy defense plays a factor in this, of course.

But the Libs also aren’t getting enough paint touches or seeking out contact.

The Liberty — who started the season with a franchise-best 9-0 run — no longer have the luxury of trying to wait until everyone is healthy once again.

They have to start racking up wins or they run the risk of potentially falling even more in the standings.

The Libs (22-15) hold fifth place in the standings and sit two games behind the second-place Dream (24-13) with only seven games left.

There’s little-to-no room for error since every one of these games matters in the playoff picture.

“We just can’t take a break on the injury front, and it’s been frustrating in that regard to not build that continuity,” Brondello said. “We’re a really good team with our full group but we haven’t been able to show it because everyone has been injured. But hopefully, we’ll get them back and we’ll have the next challenge of seeing how it all works in such a short period of time before the playoffs.”