​Saturday afternoon’s national-television showdown between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx on ABC at 1 p.m. ET has lost some shine due to ongoing absences of key players. The Liberty, who beat the Lynx in Brooklyn just over a week ago, again won’t be at full strength. Satou Sabally, who sat out the previous Liberty-Lynx clash, remains sidelined. Leonie Fiebich will miss her second straight game with a foot injury, and Pauline Astier is questionable with an ankle injury as well.
Fiebich’s defense and shooting, along with Astier’s facilitating and scoring, are crucial to New York’s versatility, but Sabally carries the highest potential impact among the currently missing pieces. Before entering concussion protocol, Sabally, who had been playing limited minutes, had shaken off early shooting struggles to provide a scoring punch for New York, both from the bench and as a starter. In her final eight appearances prior to this latest absence, she logged 17 or more minutes in every game, and the Liberty’s scoring margin was neutral or better during her minutes. It was easy to envision a fully healthy Sabally helping the Liberty straighten out their inconsistent play and emerge as the reliable title contender many projected it could be, echoing the sentiment Zack Ward explored before the season. That vision is on hold for now.
Meanwhile, Minnesota appears ready to welcome Olivia Miles back to the lineup after two games missed with a calf strain that flared during the Lynx’ loss to the Liberty. Miles’ return should stabilize Minnesota’s floor. However, Napheesa Collier will not be joining her. Although Collier has been practicing with the Lynx for more than a week, she remains listed as out on the injury report. Her absence limits Minnesota’s ceiling, even as Miles’ return promises to sharpen their floor.
With Miles on the floor, the Lynx have demonstrated a solid baseline. If Collier can eventually rediscover the form that made her an MVP candidate, she could lift their ceiling. Yet the question remains: how smoothly will Collier reintegrate? Since 2023, her first full season back from maternity leave, Collier has logged a usage rate of around 26 percent or higher, meaning roughly a quarter of Lynx possessions involve her shooting, drawing a foul, or turning the ball over. This season, Miles leads the Lynx in usage at about 25 percent, with Courtney Williams around 24 percent and Natasha Howard at about 23.5 percent. The key question becomes whose possessions will go to Collier? How will increasing her usage—and her more isolation-centered style—affect the Miles–Howard two-woman game or Williams’ effectiveness as an off-ball scorer?
Having ample offensive options is a welcome challenge in theory, but it becomes problematic if a clear, cohesive hierarchy cannot be established. Still, with Cheryl Reeve at the helm—an accomplished coach with a long track record—the Lynx will be aiming to balance personnel and maximize efficiency, even as they navigate the transitions that come with Collier’s absence and Miles’ return.