This is not the same Fever team that Liberty beat, 104-68, just over a month ago.
This isn’t the same as when a superteam ruined their home opener (which also marked Caitlin Clark’s regular-season debut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse) or when they lost their three meetings this season by a combined 83 points.
The players haven’t changed.
There were no shots fired.
When Liberty coach Sandy Brondello spoke with Christy Sides, she told the Fever head coach, “Right now we just have to go through the process. This is a new team.”
It will take time, just like it did with the Liberty in 2023.
Then at some point, at some unpredictable juncture, it will all start to click together.
Since the Liberty and Fever last met on June 2, Indiana has compiled a 6-4 record heading into Saturday’s game in Indianapolis and is back in the running for a playoff spot.
Part of that can be attributed to Clark, who is averaging 16.0 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds.
Brondello and Breanna Stewart said the Fever’s post players, and Clark’s ability to orchestrate the offense with them, have also contributed to their turnaround, adding an extra layer of complexity to Liberty’s bid to win the season series.
“They’re a much stronger team than they were at the start,” Brondello said.
Through their past 10 games, the Fever’s offense is tied for third in the WNBA behind the Aces and Liberty, but it was their second-worst through the first three weeks of the season.
Aaliyah Boston and Nalyssa Smith averaged nearly double-doubles during that span (15.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 11.5 and 8.5 rebounds, respectively).
Though there are still losses and defensive growing pains, the Fever are making progress.
“We’ve played them three times already,” Stewart said Thursday, “and obviously they get a little bit better every time we play them, but we’re still going to use our defense to impose our will on them.”
It starts, as always, with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who helped limit Clark to just nine and three points in the two games.
But about six minutes into the third quarter against the Lynx on Tuesday, the Liberty found itself in a dangerous situation when Laney Hamilton’s leg got tangled with Napheesa Collier’s, eventually causing Collier to limp to the bench.
Laney Hamilton returned for nearly the entire fourth quarter and was a full participant in Liberty’s practice on Thursday, Brondello said.
Saturday will be the first game since the All-Star roster was announced, but it did not include Lainie Hamilton, who Coach Brondello guaranteed would play in Tuesday’s press conference.
Brondello messaged her, telling her to “just use it as motivation.”
Laney Hamilton didn’t have to change anything, Brondello said.
Her role as a key part of the Liberty defense won’t change either.
But it’s fitting that Clark’s matchup will be the first between Rainey and Hamilton after the All-Star rosters were announced.
Rainey Hamilton finished May 16th at plus-43.
And since they last played each other, Clarke nearly recorded her first triple-double in the WNBA.
There was some discussion about Clarke wishing she’d been more aggressive in playing Diana Taurasi and then winning over her role model.
Clark was left out of the U.S. Olympic team for 2024.
Clark was selected to be a member of the WNBA team for the All-Star Game.
That’s five weeks into the Caitlin Clark news cycle.
But that period also coincided with the Fever team beginning to reverse their downward spiral this season.
Everything worked out well for them, and it’s not just about Clark.
The individual pieces started to fall into place.
“And that always takes time,” Brondello said. “It’s a chemistry thing.”
