The New York Liberty's playoff run after toppling the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx did not last very long. Despite having plenty of players with championship pedigree on the roster, they faltered in the grand stage against the Atlanta Dream, and in spectacular fashion as well — being on the receiving end of a three-game sweep after suffering an 85-83 loss in Game 3 on Friday night.
What started out as a playoff run with so much hope that the Liberty, a team with veterans and championship poise, could stun the world even further after knocking out the Lynx ended with so much devastation. This was a swift end for a team that went through its fair share of lumps in the regular season, bounced back in time to round into form for the first round of the playoffs, only to come up short with their backs against the wall.
Nonetheless, head coach Chris DeMarco believes that the Liberty brass will still keep him, as he expects to return for at least another season of work, as per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
Many Liberty fans don't seem to be very pleased with this expectation of DeMarco's. This reaction might be stemming from the heat of the moment, as the Liberty were only recently knocked out of championship contention. But DeMarco did not help himself with the way he handled some situations for the team during the playoffs.
Article Continues BelowFor starters, he is bearing the brunt of the blame from fans for failing to call the Liberty's reset timeout with the team down by three, 101-98, with just 4.3 seconds remaining in overtime. They did not get a good look as a result, as Breanna Stewart had to heave up a prayer that fell way short.
At the end of the day, the Liberty are facing championship-or-bust expectations. Firing DeMarco after just one season feels premature, but if he doesn't have this team playing up to expectations next season, then he might not be long for this job.

