You can talk about Sabrina Ionescu’s sharpshooting, Jonquel Jones’ MVP-level impact, Natasha Cloud’s defensive tenacity, but Breanna Stewart is the glue holding this team together. Despite her MCL sprain from game 1, Stewart took the court in the second. “As long as I don’t wake up from my nap feeling like s***,” she had joked at shootaround. Her showing only fueled bigger concerns about her fitness, and with Stewart not at full strength, the Liberty playoff train could come to a crashing halt.

Game 2 went just the opposite way Liberty expected it to. Playing at home, they were heavily favoured, but the Mercury gave them a lesson instead. After Phoenix pulled away in the second quarter, there was no catching them. Mercury stamped Liberty with an 86-60 scoreline, taking the series into Game 3. While it’s not all over for the Liberty yet, their title defense might just go down the drain with Stewart’s injury. 

Alicia Jay said on the ‘We Need to Talk’ podcast, “We’ve been saying it. If nobody is healthy and she’s relatively healthy or it’s relatively clean, which means there’s a part of it that’s not, you wonder what this team looks like if they do advance.”

To be clear, this podcast aired when the Liberty were still 1-0 up. In the context of the entire season, this is still a  fair question. Game 2 was tough for Stewart; she played 20 minutes, 10 minutes less than her average, while finishing with 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. That is a vast difference from her Game 1, where she had 18 points and six rebounds. However, it was not about her fitness, according to coach Sandy Brondello and Stewart herself. 

“It probably became more of a mental barrier than a physical one,” Stewart said of her Game 2 performance. “It was the physicality that was hard for her, and the screening,” Brondello said. “(Stewart)’s tough. She did what she could there, but hopefully, we know she’s going to be a little bit better.” It seems there is an uncertain atmosphere around Breanna Stewart’s fitness, and the sprain is limiting her strength. It might be a very serious injury, but Stewart is definitely not at full capacity.  

Ashley Nicole Moss doesn’t like Liberty’s prospects in the playoffs as she said, “If they get through Phoenix and what happens on the other side of their or in the other series on their side of the bracket, that means then they take on Minnesota, and that is….” 

“No thanks.” Alicia Jay interrupted.

Moss said later on,  “That’s (Minnesota) going to be a tough one, and it would have to be a physical game. And again, putting the injuries aside or maybe because of the injuries, this is not a New York team that I actually have seen lean into that New York grit.”

Jonquel Jones missed a month from an ankle injury. Stewart missed time with her knee injury even before this MCL strain. Back-to-back injuries have made things worse. If Stewart had a problem with the physicality against Mercury, the Lynx aren’t much better. They will be targeting her. Minnesota’s defense is built to choke the paint. Alanna Smith anchors as a mobile rim protector while guards extend pressure knowing she’s behind them, which has stalled New York late in the past.

Liberty still has Mercury to go through, which would be difficult in itself. Without Stewart at her full intensity, the team will struggle on the boards (lost 39-36 in Game 2), they will struggle commanding the paint (lost 38-22 last game), and the Mercury will hone in on these areas until Liberty breaks. 

Apart from Stewart, the others aren’t in great form either. They finished last night, shooting 30% from the field and 23.1% from the 3-point line with only one player, Emma Meesseman, breaking into double digits. Liberty will need its outside shooting to stretch the Mercury defense, and Emma Meessemen to step up with Stewart’s injury. While she played in Game 2, is risking her health even worth it in the long term?

Calls For the New York Liberty to Rest Breanna Stewart Grow

We have already established that the Liberty will struggle without Breanna Stewart. In the regular season stretch she was out, they went 5-8 and averaged 81.7 points, which is a -2.7 differential to their season-wide average.  But, Stewart is 31, and there are still some years ahead in her career as a vital piece of this Liberty squad. Both of her knees have suffered injuries, so is it worth it to force a 70% capacity Stewart?

Erica Ayala said, “And from my perspective, and we talked about this with Caitlin Clark throughout the season, the health overall health of a player like Breanna Stewart for New York, for the WNBA, for women’s basketball is not worth it to push it.”

Caitlin Clark suffered through multiple soft tissue injuries throughout the season, and the Fever decided not to risk her in the playoffs. Yes, there is a lot of narrative around this Liberty team coming into the season as champions, but it was the same with the Fever. They were the team ready to take a step up, but keeping the long-term health in mind, Clark pulled out. 

Arguably, there are a lot more expectations on the Liberty, but they can’t risk shortening Breanna Stewart’s career for one game. Stewart’s injury history, with the Achilles tears and her knee surgery in March 2025, adds red flags. Instead of focusing on Stewart, they could try and figure out ways to win without her.