The last time the Dallas Wings visited the New York Liberty, they earned a 91-76 win, propelled by matching 24-point performances from Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
That victory since has proven not to be outlier, but an indicator. The Wings look legit.
While Dallas entered that matchup at 3-3, they’ve since gone 10-5, running their record to 13-8 overall. Of those five losses, four were to teams currently above the fourth-place Wings in the standings: the Minnesota Lynx (twice), Golden State Valkyries
and Las Vegas Aces. The fifth loss came to the Portland Fire, albeit without Bueckers.
Ahead Tuesday night’s rematch between the Wings and Liberty (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), New York also sports a 13-8 record, claiming the fifth spot in the league standings just behind Dallas.
Since that game, New York has experienced a more uneven trajectory.
The loss to the Wings was in the middle of a three-game losing streak, which was then followed by an eight-game winning streak. That success, however, proved to precede a stretch of four losses in five games. And then came the Commissioner’s Cup triumph and a home win over the Lynx.
Are the Liberty also legit?
These teams, despite identical records, inspire different feelings.
The Wings, forecasted, in the best-case scenario, to be fighting for a lower playoff seed, are instead in the top half of the standings. New York, projected by many as the best team in the league, have failed to reach that high standard.
Expectations, inescapably, shape the assessment of the two teams.
And yet, for all the emergent positivity about Dallas and lingering skepticism about New York, which team will ultimately perform the best when it matters the most in the playoffs? Looking that far forward, it’s hard to endorse to the ascendant-but-inexperienced Wings over the more proven Liberty.
These dichotomies are illustrative of the parity that’s defined this WNBA season.
Are there any truly great teams? Will the Liberty, similar to Aces, continue to be given greater benefit of the doubt because their cores have won it all, even if both teams have real flaws? Can we imagine upstarts, like the Wings or Valkyries, getting the job done when those groups have won nothing of note together?
What do you think?
Are you optimistic about the Wings’ upside, including into the playoffs? Or, do you believe inexperience will undo their ambitions? In contrast, do you trust that the Liberty, buoyed by the experience, will become the best versions of themselves? Or, does this team not deserve such benefit of the doubt?
Or, are concerned with the more immediate? Will your attention instead be directed to the desert on Tuesday night, eager to see what unfolds when the Chicago Sky, presumably debuting a new starting lineup with an unamused new sixth woman, takes on the Phoenix Mercury (10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass)?
Let us know all your thoughts in the comments.
