New York Liberty dominate the Atlanta Dream, 83-69, in their playoff opener

The New York Liberty opened what's expected to be a strong title run by defeating the Atlanta Dream by a score of 83-69. The game looked every bit like a matchup between the #1 seed and the #8 as the Liberty established total dominance in the first half. The Dream simply had no answers for the Liberty, who looked like a completely different team after dropping their finale against Atlanta to allow their first-round opponent to sneak into the postseason.

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The first half was a New York Liberty tour de force

New York's dominance early on came on both offense and defense. They ran out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter, which ended with the Liberty in control, 29-16. From there New York would go on to shoot almost 55 percent from the field while going 5 for 10 from beyond the arc to post a 48-30 lead.

The Liberty got an unexpected boost from Leonie Fiebich, who led New York with 15 points. Sabrina Ionescu add 14 and Breanna Stewart chipped in with nine as all three players finished the half with a remarkable +20 rating.

Part of the reason that rating was so high was New York's suffocating defense. The only scorer who got into double figures for Atlanta was Tina Charles with 12, and the Liberty also stifled Rhyne Howard, a normally reliable scorer who saw her normal 17-point average reduced to just four points as she shot 0 for 7 for the half. Naz Hillmon was able to add four points after a slow start, but basically this was total end-to-end domination.

Atlanta made a brief run in the fourth, but they were never in this game

The third quarter featured more of the same. The Liberty pushed their lead over 20 points several times during the quarter, and the Dream were constantly back on their heels. Offensively the Dream had difficulty getting anything going early in the shot clock, and on the other end they were outhustled for rebounds and left at the mercy of New York's precision passing, which consistently led to open looks.

The Dream did fare somewhat better offensively, as Rhyne Howard was able to get going a little and she ended the quarter with 14 points. But Fiebich continued to come through for New York, and Atlanta also had no answers for Breanna Stewart, who turned more aggressive on the offensive end to finish the quarter with a total of 15.

Overall the Liberty were more than happy to match points with the Dream, and they ended the quarter up 69-49. Atlanta cleared its bench to start the fourth quarter as all five starters took a seat, but the results were basically the same as Atlanta's reserves struggled to get good looks against New York's jumbo lineup that played tenacious physical defense throughout.

The Dream were able to close to within 14 after an 8-0 run midway through the fourth, but a Stewart layup ended the run, and she and Ionescu worked the two-player game to restore order and get the lead back up to 17. Ionescue sealed the deal with a three as the clock ticked under the three-minute mark. The final margin was 83-69, but it didn't feel like this game was anywhere near that close.

Can the Dream counter going forward?

Given how lopsided this game was, it's hard to imagine Atlanta's season going beyond game two on Tuesday night. They'll need to get Rhyne Howard established and get something from no-show Jordin Canada, and if they play the kind of tough defense their subs showed in the fourth quarter they might be able to keep things close.

As for the Liberty, coach Sandy Brondello has to be happy with the scoring heroics of Leonie Fiebich, who was lights out from beyond the arc at 4 for 4 to finish with 21. Brondello's biggest enemy going forward will likely be complacency, though, as New York looks like a strong candidate to quickly move on to round two of the WNBA playoffs.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough