Liberty vs. Fever Preview: Commissioner's Cup Defense Begins

The metropolitan chase for Stanley's is over but the New York Liberty can still bring a Cup to the city.

The Liberty's defense of their Commissioner's Cup title gets underway in prime time, as New York welcomes the Indiana Fever to Barclays Center on Sunday night. New York will go for its third win in a row after scoring triumphs over Phoenix and Washington earlier this week.

This marks the fourth staging on the WNBA's in-season competition, one that has opted for a speedier run this time around: the next five games, rather than 10, will make up the CC slate, which centers on in-conference competition. New York went 7-3, including 2-0 against runner-up Connecticut, to take the East's slot before downing the Las Vegas Aces in the championship game. The Liberty will seek to become the first repeat champion of the competition, which previously saw current reps Breanna Stewart and Kennedy Burke prevail with the Seattle Storm in 2021.

Part one of the slate welcomes back Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, who are the current leaders atop the East after downing the Chicago Sky by a 71-70 final on Saturday afternoon. This is already the third meeting with the top overall pick from the spring's draft and New York has won the first two, including their home opener by a 91-80 final on May 18. Another get-together in Indianapolis is scheduled for July 6.

What: Indiana Fever (2-8, 1-0) vs. New York Liberty (6-2, 0-0) (WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game)

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

When/Watch: Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, WWOR

Who's Favored: NYL -14.5

Keep An Eye On: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton

Laney-Hamilton is never one to back down from a challenge and will not doubt savor another meeting with Clark. With Laney-Hamilton shadowing her, Clark got up only eight shot attempts in the first get-together on May 16 before the touted rookie scored 10 points in the opening period during the rematch two days later. Laney-Hamilton is often assigned the most imposing opposing offensive threat. Sunday will likely be no exception and it's a major opportunity: the Liberty will become the firt team Clark faces on three occasions.

Fever to Watch: Caitlin Clark

Yes, the WNBA has its headliners and stories beyond the flashy Clark, but there's no denying she's beginning to get the hang of this professional basketball thing. While her percentages leave much to be desired, Clark is averaging over 20 in her past trio and has put up over 42 tries from the field in that span. The fact she's starting to project more confidence should give her defenders pause ... especially considering the fact that the Fever are on a bit of a fast track toward the Cup final in the very, very, very early going.

They Said It

"I've always loved and admired Kayla from afar...Diana (Taurasi) absolutely hated her (in Phoenix)...KT never backs down. That's the toughness that we needed...she's an ultimate professional, and you love that."-Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello on Kayla Thornton

Prediction

Indiana is slowly getting it together and a good start in the Commissioner's Cup amidst unsavory headlines gives it further momentum to make a bit of a statement in the early stages of the Clark era. But the Liberty know they have a chance to make a statement as well by repeating and they certainly don't want to fall a de facto game-and-a-half behind the Fever early on. Both sides will be hungry but Liberty undeniably carry the better resources this time around.

Liberty 86, Fever 73

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