Brondello: Liberty ‘haven’t shown’ their best heading into Game 3

— The record books say that the WNBA Finals are over.

No team in WNBA history has come back from a 2-0 deficit and eventually won the series.

This year’s WNBA Finals is the 35th best-of-five series ever played in history. Before this series, there have been 17 times a team went down 2-0 in a series. And none have completed a reverse sweep.

So why does Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello think her squad is capable of being the first team in WNBA history to complete a reverse sweep after going down 2-0?

“We haven’t shown our best,” the head coach said after Saturday’s practice at Barclays Center. “Now we have to match what Vegas does and play even better if we want to win.”

The Libs have looked totally different than the team that defeated the Las Vegas Aces three out of five times (including the Commissioner’s Cup) before the postseason while finishing with the second-best offensive rating mark this season.

The Aces have won the first two games of the Finals by an average of 23 points, including Game 2’s 28-point beatdown at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The Liberty guards haven’t been able to equalize their opponent’s stellar performances — a theme that led to success in the regular-season matchups.

Sabrina Ionescu, who averaged 28 points in wins against Las Vegas in the regular season, is averaging just nine points on 24% shooting in the

Finals.

The always-reliable two-way guard/forward Betnijah Laney struggled in Game 2 — 12 points on 27% shooting — while Courtney Vandersloot has been unable to lead the offense and establish any type of rhythm.

Their struggles have the team searching for answers with a stagnant offense, which Aces guards Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray have taken advantage of. Brondello noted that the Liberty’s success against the Aces in the regular season may have sparked their “sense of urgency,” and led to the wins in October.

But a return home to Brooklyn for

Game 3 puts the series back at Barclays Center — the arena the Aces haven’t won in all season — and gives the home team a chance to get back into form in hopes of extending the series.

“And that’s the beauty that we still have another opportunity. So we have to embrace this opportunity. We have to reengage and get locked in how we want to play.”

And how do the Liberty want to play?

“When we move the ball we are a way better team. We have to have more movement on the weak side, not just standing and watching people play,” star center Jonquel Jones said after Saturday’s practice.

The Libs stood and watched as Jones dwindled a 21-point first-half lead down to eight, but were unable to get any closer than that after halftime. The Aces adjusted and crowded the lone threat that made a huge impact in Game 2, leading the former MVP to score one field goal in the second half.

“When they do sink in, we have to be able to exploit it by having good spacing and being able to get into the open seam so that the person that’s being crowded can have a lane to be able to pass the ball and make the right next play.”

Las Vegas’ defense that has stifled the Liberty so far in the Finals isn’t much different than what they faced in the regular season, said 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart.

The star said the Aces are showing defensive looks that they’ve seen in the past, like blitzing Ionescu on the perimeter and going under screens while guarding the struggling Vandersloot and Laney. Stewart added that she and Jones get crowded often down low, too.

“It’s [about] understanding that and just not playing into their hands,” Stewart said. “We know what they want to do. But we shouldn’t let that stop what we want to do.”

“When we move the ball we are a way better team. We have to have more movement on the weak side, not just standing and watching people play,” LIBERTY CENTER JONQUEL JONES