The post Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu not playing vs. Dream appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Star guard Sabrina Ionescu’s red-hot month of August will hit the brakes as she takes a brief trip to the injury report. A lingering foot injury has finally caught up to Ionescu, who has been ruled out of the New York Liberty’s Saturday afternoon matchup with the Atlanta Dream.
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After being listed as questionable for the game, Ionescu was downgraded to out on gameday morning, per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post. She now joins Breanna Stewart, Isabelle Harrison and Nyara Sabally on the sidelines.
Before the injury, Ionescu had been enjoying one of the best months of her career. The 27-year-old averaged 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in her first 10 games of August. Her last few weeks included a 36-point double-double against the Connecticut Sun and a clutch four-point play to seal a recent win over the Minnesota Lynx.
Without Ionescu, the Liberty will likely turn to Marine Johannes or Kennedy Burke as an interim starter. Burke is the better defensive player with more size, but Johannes’ shooting would keep the floor spaced.
Ionescu had completely taken over the Liberty’s offense since Stewart suffered a knee injury in late July. New York has seemingly gotten star center Jonquel Jones back up to full speed, but will now be without its two best players for the foreseeable future.
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Sabrina Ionescu joins Liberty’s growing injury report
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Although the Liberty recently signed Emma Meesseman at the beginning of the month, they could very well need another midseason acquisition. New York had just nine healthy players in its last game against the Chicago Sky and is now down to just eight with Ionescu’s upcoming absence.
The Liberty have struggled since Stewart went down, going just 5-8 since losing the three-time MVP. They suffered brutal upset losses to the Sun and Sky in that stretch, a concerning trend for a team now missing its star guard.
The Liberty have just eight regular season games remaining, including their Sunday afternoon matchup with the Dream. Atlanta, 23-13, is already one game ahead of them in the standings and can grow its lead with another victory. The Dream have alternated wins and losses in their last four outings after losing a six-game win streak.
Related: Liberty guard Natasha Cloud unloads on refs, Lynx as rivalry ignites
Related: How Sabrina Ionescu was ‘catalyst’ for Liberty’s statement win vs. Lynx
