The fourth overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft is the organizer of the Waterdogs defense. Liam Byrnes wears the metaphorical green sticker on his helmet.

Byrnes cleaned up their defensive rebounding (an abysmal sub-50% in June) when he moved to close defense full-time. He directed traffic on the inside for a defense that allowed fewer assisted shots (assist rate dropped from 53.4% to 47.5%) and worse assisted shots (assisted shooting percentage plummeted from 40.7% to 24.7%) when he was starting.

It takes most people two or three viewings of a game with a rewind button to recognize certain patterns. (It’s me. I’m most people.) Byrnes sees them unfold in real time. Lyle Thompson’s favorite target, Shayne Jackson, is curling open on the crease -- until Byrnes disrupts the pass and prevents a shot.