Liberty Win Commissioner’s Cup Without Laney-Hamilton and DeMarco’s Reasoning Was Simple

Sabrina Ionescu hit a three with 15.7 seconds left. The Barclays Center crowd erupted. And the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 to take the Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night — their second in-season tournament title in two years.

But one of the more noticeable storylines from the win was who didn’t play. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, expected to step up in place of the injured Satou Sabally, never got off the bench. It was a healthy DNP, and fans had questions.

First-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco didn’t overcomplicate it.

“She’s healthy. We tightened up the rotation a little bit tonight, but she’s still gonna be a part of this (group) going forward,” DeMarco said, according to Liberty reporter Myles Ehrlich.

Ehrlich noted that DeMarco felt the Aces were harder to game plan for without A’ja Wilson — who was sidelined with a leg injury suffered against Chicago on Sunday — making their rotation “a little more unpredictable.”

So DeMarco went with a tighter group. And it worked.

Ionescu finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Breanna Stewart posted a stat-stuffing 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. The Liberty defense held the Aces to 39% shooting in the second half after both teams traded runs early.

Laney-Hamilton, 32, is averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 17.6 minutes off the bench this season. She’s appeared in 14 of 20 games after missing all of last season with a knee injury. That recovery is still ongoing in a sense, and the Liberty have been cautious with her workload.

Still, she’ll get paid. Every Liberty player receives a $30,000 share of the Commissioner’s Cup prize money — win or DNP.

The bigger picture here is about rotation trust in a new system. DeMarco is in his first year in New York and still figuring out who fits where on any given night. Laney-Hamilton is clearly part of that plan long-term. But on Tuesday, the Liberty rode their stars and a shorter bench to a trophy.

She’ll get her minutes again. Maybe as soon as Friday against the Sun.