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One of the narratives entering this WNBA season has been shaped by the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces forming what are being called super teams as both made significant acquisitions this past winter, including the Liberty signing two-time Finals MVP Breanna Stewart and the Aces adding two-time league MVP Candace Parker.
All five Liberty starters—Stewart, Betnijah Laney, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu—have been a WNBA All-Star at least once. They are coached by Sandy Brondello, who is in her second season with the Liberty and guided the Phoenix Mercury to their 2014 title. While the Liberty have the pieces to win a championship and some prematurely see a potential dynasty, personal accolades cannot fast-track team chemistry. Their 80-64 season opening loss last Friday to the Washington Mystics’ on the road is evidence.
The Mystics’ disruptive perimeter defense and transition game drove them to a comfortable win and exposed the Liberty’s need for defensive toughness. It also showed the WNBA’s 11 other teams will be prepared for the challenge. The Aces opened their 2023 season with a dominant 104-65 win against the Seattle Storm. The Liberty did not have the same outcome.
On Sunday, the Liberty gave a glimpse of why they have so much hype. Facing the Indiana Fever at the Barclays Center in their first home game of this season, New York dismantled Indiana by 90-73, displaying the level of defense that will be consistently required to reach their goal of being the last team standing when all is said and done.
Stewart provided the offense. She was sensational in setting a new single-game franchise record, scoring 45 points on 15-21 shooting, including 6-9 on 3-point attempts. The Liberty led by 36-14 after the first quarter on 65% shooting from the field. Stewart outscored the Fever by herself, posting 19 to the opponent’s collective 14. As the game moved on and her points kept piling up, the former University of Connecticut star said she was unaware of her record pace.
“I didn’t know I broke any record. I looked up at the scoreboard at one time and had 37,” said Stewart. “I was like ‘I didn’t know what just happened.’ I wanted to be more aggressive after [the] last game.”
Stewart added she wanted to “set the tone and be confident.” Against the Mystics, she was 3-10 overall and 0-5 on threes for just 12 points.
A healthy and dynamic Jamal Murray has provided the supremely gifted 7’ Nikola Jokic the necessary sidekick to finally lift the Denver Nuggets to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, defeating the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals Monday night by 113-111 on the road.
As one of four American Basketball Association (ABA) teams to merge with the NBA in 1976, the No. 1 seed Nuggets joined the Indiana Pacers, the then-New York Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs to make it to the NBA Finals with a 4-0 sweep over the embattled Lakers.
The 28-year old Jokic, a two-time league MVP (2021, 2022), bolstered his resume by earning the Earvin “Magic” Johnson trophy as the conference finals most valuable player, capping the series with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists, his eighth triple-double this postseason. The 6-4 Murray, who lit up the Lakers for 30 points in the first half—he finished with 37—of the Nuggets’ 119-108 Game 3 victory on Saturday, followed up with 25 in Game 4.
The 2023 playoffs have been an emotional validation that Murray remains one of the most electric backcourt performers in the league. After tearing his ACL in his left knee in April 2021, the 26-year-old University of Kentucky sharpshooter’s outlook on his future was permeated with doubt. He didn’t return until October 2022.
“When you’re hurt, you’re in the unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen, if you’ll recover or what the results are going to be,” Murray said in a January interview with Men’s Health Magazine. “I was very fearful of the unknown before, but now I embrace it.”
Murray and the Nuggets await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics and No. 8 seed Miami Heat. Down 3-0 entering Game 4 in Miami on Tuesday, the Celtics got the series back on their home court for a Game 5 tonight with a 116-99 win. Jayson Tatum had 33 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, all team-highs, as the Celtics lived to play another game.
“We were just trying to save our season,” said Tatum.
If Boston takes Game 5, Game 6 will be in Miami on Saturday. The NBA Finals begin on June 1.
Utter the words “14th Amendment,” and most Americans know it as a Reconstruction act that guaranteed citizenship, particularly to Black Americans who had been enslaved. But now it’s once again part of the current discussion, economically speaking, as a possible resort by President Biden to solve the debt ceiling crisis.
On Wednesday, Biden got a surprise announcement from Sen. Bernie Sanders for him to invoke the amendment to avoid a default.
“In my view, there is only one option. President Joe Biden has the authority and the responsibility under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to avoid a default,” Sanders wrote. “This is not a radical idea. Making sure that the United States continues to pay its bills regardless of whether the statutory increase in the debt ceiling is raised or not is an idea that has been supported by Republicans and Democrats.”
Sanders’ reasoning is that the proposed cuts by the Republicans passed in their debt limit bill last month would be a “disaster,” and, to his mind, equivalent to a default. He insisted that Section 4 of the amendment, known as the public debt clause, must be utilized to “continue to pay its bills on time and without delay, prevent an economic catastrophe, and prevent huge cuts to healthcare, education, childcare, affordable housing, nutrition assistance and the needs of our veterans.”
In effect, the constitutional amendment authorizes by law the public debt and it “shall not be questioned.” At that time, it referenced debts incurred during the Civil War.
On Tuesday, the White House seemed to balk at exercising the amendment, fearful that it would create a constitutional crisis. Even so, Biden said last week from Japan, “The question is could it be done and invoked in time that it would not be appealed as a consequence past the date in question.”
Rubu Zhao is the second person to die on Rikers Island this year. The 52-year-old was “severely injured” while detained at the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) jail and was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital two days later last Wednesday, May 16.
“I am saddened by the circumstances that led to Mr. Zhao’s passing and I offer my condolences to his family,” said NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Louis Molina. “The health and safety of everyone in our custody is a top priority and a full investigation is underway to determine how this unfortunate incident occurred.”
Zhao came into DOC custody last December and was reportedly awaiting trial. His lawyer, Jonathan Fink is currently unavailable to speak but agreed to talk to the Amsterdam News after press time. The story will be updated online to reflect any such changes.
Marvin Pines was the first person to die on Rikers this year, passing in February. He was 65 years old and suffered from seizures. Last year, 19 people died in or immediately after release from DOC custody.
According to the New York Daily News, Zhao’s injury stemmed from falling in a mental health unit. Rikers Island is often regarded as the city’s “largest psychiatric care facilities.” The Mayor’s Office reported half of the city jail’s population were diagnosed with a mental health condition last year. 16.2% of detainees had serious mental illness. Jordan Neely—the unhoused Black New Yorker killed on the subway by white vigilante Daniel Penny earlier this month—struggled with his mental health and was formerly detained on Rikers for over a year.
Jail population review bill Int 0806-2022 was passed by the City Council earlier this month. If signed by Mayor Eric Adams, the proposed legislation would allow the city to evaluate detainees eligible for release which would include accessing their mental and physical health.
The bill is just the most recent move to clear the city jail population with Rikers’ slated and legally-mandated closure in 2027, according to sponsoring councilmember Carlina Rivera. Replacing the complex will be four borough-based jails with significantly less detention capacity.
“Streamlined case processing is just one way we can reduce unnecessary, even harmful jail time, imposed on New Yorkers,” said Rivera in her statement. “The city’s failure in managing the jails on Rikers Island and the historic number of deaths last year is partly driven by hollowed out healthcare and social services systems that leave too many vulnerable to crisis.”
This Thursday, March 25 also marks the 30th birthday of Kalief Browder, the Black New Yorker held at Rikers as a teenager over a missing backpack. Browder ultimately took his life two years after release. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visitinghttps://bit.ly/amnews1.
