I just finished watching the replays of both games this week in LA between the Sun and the Sparks, both of which the Sun won easily. The Sparks are now officially eliminated from WNBA playoff contention for this year. However, I was VERY impressed with Liv's performance in both games, especially Thursday night's game, where she played 27 minutes, scored 8 points on 3-for-5 shooting (and 2-for-2 from the free throw line), and had one monster block on Alyssa Thomas. One of the first LA scores of the game was a fast break started by Nneka and finished by Liv, going nearly the length of the court without the ball touching the floor.
It is fortuitous how Liv secured her position on the Sparks' roster at least for this year. She came to training camp as (at best) the third center behind Liz Cambage and Amanda Zahui B. Their former coach decided to suspend Zahui B for the season after it became clear that she could miss more than 10 games due to European commitments. So Liv became the backup to Cambage, and we know what happened to her. Since then, Liv has effectively become the team's starting center, and the only real interior size on the team. And she has answered the bell.
Watching her play in these two games, I could swear that I saw moves that she never had at UConn. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe she really has developed her game further. In the two games, I only saw her take one jump shot, which she missed -- but she was getting to the rim quite effectively.
Of course, she is no superstar and probably will never be one; she had her hands full trying to defend Jonquel Jones in both games. But she looks like a competent WNBA center, which even most Boneyarders appeared to think was beyond her realistic ceiling as recently as April 2022.
theleadsm.com
