Liberty 91, Fever 80: 5 > 1
A perfect afternoon at Barclays: the Liberty won while Caitlin Clark had her WNBA coming-out party
The New York Liberty are 3-0 after their second straight win over Indiana, a 91-80 matinee at Barclays. Yet they were hardly the only winners on the day. A star-studded crowd that included WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, NBA commish Adam Silver and a league-record $2 million in ticket revenues for this game alone caught first glimpse of the league’s white whale, rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. After a couple stumbles to open her pro career, Clark’s New York City debut – not just as a pro, but period – saw her looking like the star everyone hopes she’ll be.
The game itself was decided by halftime, when the Liberty led by 20 . New York became the first team in league history to have all five starters make multiple threes in a game, drilling 54% from deep. It only seemed like they all came before intermission.
Two of those threes came care of Courtney Vandersloot. The Liberty’s roster can shine so blindingly even a future first ballot Hall of Famer like Vandersloot can be overlooked – a 5-time All-Star, top-20 all time in steals and second all-time in assists behind Sue Bird. The contrast between her and Clark, the Next Big Thing, was like the old fable about the sun and the wind: Clark the center of both team’s attention, launching logo threes and lasering look-ahead passes to sometimes somnolent teammates, versus Vandersloot seemingly casually running the show, finding teammates in their spots and keeping the home team at a steady allegro tempo. By contrast, Clark is a the band leader everyone keeps hoping breaks into a solo. Shooting or sharing, you can’t look away.
While there was little suspense as far as who would win – even having added Clark, the Fever’s 0-3 start makes them 13-30 going back to last season, whereas the Liberty are 35-8 – Indiana has reasons even beyond their newest star to feel brighter days are ahead. Aliyah Boston was the top pick last year and won Rookie of the Year; the season prior they drafted NaLyssa Smith, who finished third for ROTY. There’s already one All-Star guard in the backcourt in Kelsey Mitchell. Add another high draft pick and newfound appeal as a free agent destination thanks to #22, and a franchise likely headed for its eighth-straight losing season may not be in the red again for a decade.
While there’s little suspense regarding the Liberty this regular season – the consensus pick to win the East again and the only team most anybody thinks can beat the Aces – wise eyes will be looking for signs that this year’s team has options last year’s didn’t. So far, there have been. Losing Stefanie Dolson in free agency could threaten continuity, only Nyara Sabally has looked so impressive in her opening games there’s as much reason to be excited about what she brings than to miss what Dolson did. Her first healthy offseason saw her suit up for USK Praha and come into this W campaign ready to roll instead of recovering. If she can give the Liberty more than the 12 minutes a game Dolson did last year, maybe Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones can get more breathers games 1-40 and have more in the tank come September.
And if I always seem to come back to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, it’s because everything seems to. Part of what made Clark’s performance so impressive was it came mostly against undoubtedly the best defender she’s ever faced. There’s a Forrest Gump quality to BLH – surrounded by bold-face names and legacies, she always seems to show up in a positive way at a crucial part of the story. All stories. On offense she’s a spot-up threat, works off the dribble, passes, cuts. Whatever is needed, she’s got some. What a luxury to have an elite defender who’s so selfless and such a Swiss Army knife in the offense.
These teams will face off again in New York in about two weeks, in a Commissioner’s Cup tie. For now, the Fever head into a rough seven-game stretch featuring Connecticut, Seattle, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. They’ll lose more than they’ll win, but they’ll sacrifice today given the horizons they appear to be headed for. The Liberty host Seattle Monday. The Storm are currently winless, but should be one of the W’s most improved teams after adding Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Monday will probably only feature one winner. Tough, but fair.
