NY Liberty vs. Indiana Fever preview: Home Opener!

That’s a good bit of business. The New York Liberty were the guests for the Indiana Fever’s much anticipated home opener on Thursday evening. The Liberty were unhospitable as they went wire-to-wire and won by 36 points. They are now 2-0 on the WNBA season.

Where to follow the game

ABC is the place to be. Brunch and basketball so we getting started at 1 PM.

Injuries

All clear for both teams.

The game

Sometimes, a box score tells you everything you need to know. And in Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s case, that +43 in the box score lets you know how awesome she was on Thursday. Bee had the primary assignment on Caitlin Clark and shut the future All Star down. Clark couldn’t find her rhythm and only went 2-8 from the field and put up a 9/7/6 line. It was a total team effort and we got to see the chemistry and continuity of this experienced Liberty squad

For Clark, it’s a matter of continuing to adapt to the physicality of the W and the craftiness/intelligence of the defenders that are assigned to her. For the Liberty, they’ll continue to throw different looks at Clark and bump her off of her spot as much as possible. Look for Laney-Hamilton, Kayla Thornton, and a sea of seafoam to chase Clark around. For all the criticism the Liberty perimeter defense gets, they were still a terrific defensive team and communicate incredibly well with one another.

We’ve got a basketball doubleheader this weekend! The Liberty and Fever complete their two game mini-series, and tomorrow, a full series will end. Over at MSG, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will do battle in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Basketball in NY is undefeated and hoops fans of all stripes will be well fed today and tomorrow.

Going into Thursday’s game, I was thinking Breanna Stewart needed some time to shake off some rust from not playing overseas and having a longer (but well deserved!) break from basketball. Shows what I know. Stew York looked like her MVP self on Thursday night and cooked the Fever to the tune of 31/10/4/3/2 in only 29 minutes. What helped Stewart immensely was her getting the majority of her shots by the rim and on the move. The Liberty are such a tremendously disciplined team and everyone on the court knows how to create the best shot possible for their teammate.

Paint touches are always what you want. You’re closer to the rim and have a higher chance of drawing fouls as compared to being out on the perimeter. It’s been an early point of emphasis for Sabrina Ionescu, and it’s been paying off for her. Sab went 3-3 from the restricted area and if she’s able to continue getting to the rim like this, she can become an even better offensive player. And in case you thought she was short,

That’s right!

Player to watch: Aliyah Boston

Me personally, I love when there’s a little animosity on the hardwood! The games are intense and everyone’s doing their best to win. And when you’ve got people at the top of their profession trying to win, it’s gonna get chippy every so often. We saw that on Thursday night as Boston and Jonquel Jones got into a little back-and-forth in the first quarter:

Sometimes you gotta let em know! For Boston, she’s looking to put her first good game of the season after rough outings on Thursday and against the Connecticut Sun. For the Fever to be what they need to be, they’re going to need a LOT more from their star center.

JJ only went 4-11 from the field, but she proved to be a force on both sides of the ball. She picked up three blocks, grabbed ten rebounds, and made life hell on every Fever big that suited up. You need that interior presence to really go places and if opponents can’t have any luck at the basket with JJ patrolling the paint, it gives everyone else on the team more room to exert their wills on defense. With Jones back looking better than ever, it makes a great Liberty team just a touch greater.

From the Vault

Home openers are always a good time, and last year at the ‘clays was no exception.

More reading: Indiana Fever Blog, Swish Appeal, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next