Liberty Finally Complete With Sabrina Ionescu in Lineup

"I wanted to kind of have a point of emphasis of getting my teammates feeling confident and going again," Ionescu said. "I know, obviously, with my absence, yeah, [the focus will be on] scoring, three-point shooting and all that. But, also, it's just like to get everyone else going and feeling good and feeling confident going into the playoffs."

"I knew I'd have a great opportunity to do that with the way the defense was playing me," Ionescu continued. "I know I can shoot the ball and I don't need to go out there and prove that. I think it's more I wanted to get [Breanna Stewart] going. I wanted to get Emma [Meesseman] going. I wanted to see [Jonquel Jones] continue to get her looks and I feel like I tried to do that to the best of my ability."

In the closing couple of the regular season, Ionescu lacked her trademark deep-ball (1-of-7) but dished out 20 assists, tops among all WNBA participants in their last two games. She lost but two turnovers in that span and the Liberty was a team-best plus-29 on the scoreboard when she was on the floor.

Ionescu is perhaps far from being a proverbial x-factor in the coming series against the Mercury, as her impact is well-known as this point, to the point it'll be hard for her to sneak up on anyone. But the proof is in the passing pudding of Ionescu's true impact as a facilitator.

Called upon at several points to bear the Liberty's scoring burden amidst the ailments this year, Ionescu has earned 20 points in 14 games, nine of which have ended in a Liberty victory. But when she helps on at least six shots from the hands of teammates, the record rises to 14-4.

"We know she's a great scorer and shooter, but her ability to get other players open facilitating [is even better]," head coach Sandy Brondello said of Ionescu after she posted a serendipitous 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in Thursday's regular season-ending win in Chicago. "I'm sure Stewie will say how much it makes her job a little easier, because they have such great chemistry that they've built up over these years. Sabrina, she loves the moment. The bigger the game, the better she is ... She's been really affecting these last few games back, obviously, dishing out assists and it was good for her tonight, just to get a little bit more aggressive."