If a healthy version of the New York Liberty are going to return to the WNBA Finals for the third straight year, it’s going to be on the backs of their defense.

The offense is not going to be a worry. In a lineup so star-powered that Emma Meesseman — the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP — is coming off the bench to average 13 points and five rebounds, the points will be there.

Head coach Sandy Brondello said it herself after New York defeated the Washington Mystics , 75-66, in its home finale on Tuesday night.

“How we feel that we're gonna move forward and be successful in the playoffs is as a defensive-minded team and [that] allows our offense to come out of that,” she said.

The second half of the Liberty’s season has been a series of fits and starts as players cycle in and out of the lineu

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