Rookie guard Pauline Astier has quickly become a significant asset for the New York Liberty, drawing the attention of coach Chris DeMarco and providing a dynamic backcourt partner for star player Sabrina Ionescu. DeMarco had been tracking Astier since taking over as head coach, observing her games with Turkish club USK Praha and identifying her decisiveness, floor vision, and ability to attack the basket as qualities that would fit his desired team style.
Upon Astier's arrival in Brooklyn, DeMarco noted her strong teammate qualities, including her enthusiasm for her teammates' successes and her willingness to share the ball. "You love to coach a player like that who’s just an awesome teammate and makes people around her better," DeMarco said.
For years, Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb has sought an ideal backcourt complement for Ionescu. While previous pairings, including those with Marine Johannes, Courtney Vandersloot, Natasha Cloud, and Crystal Dangerfield, showed flashes, none proved seamless. Following the team's first-round playoff exit last year, Kolb indicated a plan to evaluate Ionescu's best backcourt partner. Astier's recent performance alongside Ionescu may offer the solution.
Although Ionescu missed the initial weeks of the season due to injury, impacting early chemistry, the connection between her and Astier has grown with shared court time. Ionescu highlighted Astier's unselfishness and high basketball IQ. "Her ability to be really unselfish and, honestly, read the game really well," Ionescu said. "She understands when she needs to shoot, when she needs to drive, she’s a really good passer, her ability to get downhill and create for our offense, put pressure on the defense is elite."
Astier's integration into DeMarco's offensive scheme allows Ionescu more opportunities to play off the ball and exploit defenses that are already in motion. Teammate Jonquel Jones described Astier as having the perfect balance of aggression and understanding team actions, seamlessly fitting with the Liberty. "She just does a really good job of playing off of all of us and I think her energy, her ability to be able to pick people up full court. … There is no big drop off. Defensively, she’s really good. Offensively, she’s really good. And so she really fits with us seamlessly."
The emergence of Astier presents a potential lineup decision for DeMarco, particularly with Satou Sabally nearing a return from concussion protocol. While returning to the presumed starting lineup with Sabally would mean sliding Astier to the bench, her professionalism suggests she would handle any role adjustment. However, the current starting unit featuring Astier has demonstrated strong synergy, with the team's most effective five-player lineup (minimum 45 minutes played) including Astier, Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich, Breanna Stewart, and Jones.
DeMarco indicated a preference for addressing lineup decisions on a day-to-day basis, acknowledging the team's ongoing player availability fluctuations. "What I’ve learned this year is, it’s day to day," he said. "There’s no point in thinking about it until it comes up. There’s too much happening and people been in and out. … We’ll have a discussion, for sure, but really happy with the way the starting lineup is going right now, and whether Satou starts or not, she’s been phenomenal all year in her role."