Liberty face early litmus test against Caitlin Clark, Fever — here are the keys to watch

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CHICAGO — The Liberty have looked the part of defending champions through the first week of action.

New York beat the Aces by 14 points in its season opener Saturday before throttling the Sky by 25 points Thursday in Chicago.

Saturday, though, may provide the Liberty (2-0) their toughest test yet.

The Liberty are set to enter the hostile environment of Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to play the 2-1 Fever.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half at Wintrust Arena on Thursday. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Will New York make a statement against a team that may be one of its main competitors down the stretch?

Or will Caitlin Clark & Co. expose the Liberty’s imperfections?

Here are three things to watch:

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever handles the ball as Rhyne Howard #10 of the Atlanta Dream plays defense during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena on May 22, 2025. Getty Images

Liberty stress test

New York has looked dominant in stretches of its first two games.

There’s no denying the offensive firepower of the Liberty’s starting lineup.

The addition of Natasha Cloud and the permanent promotion of Leonie Fiebich bolstered the Liberty’s opening lineups’ defense and made New York possibly the scariest starting five in the league.

But the Liberty have been far from perfect, and there’s plenty of things that need to be cleaned up.

Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty dribbles the ball during the game against the Chicago Sky on May 22, 2025 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. NBAE via Getty Images

Coach Sandy Brondello admitted as much in her postgame press conference after Thursday’s blowout victory.

“I wasn’t happy at all,” Brondello said. “We were all clunky. And regardless of the score, we didn’t have the pace and the urgency and the spacing that we need as we moved forward.”

All three of those traits will be important against a high-functioning team like the Fever.

Indiana leads the league with an 88.9 defensive rating and holds teams to the second-fewest points per game (75.)

Against a team such as Chicago, the Liberty can live with those lapses. But that won’t fly against the Fever.

3-point barrage

The Liberty set a WNBA record for 3s in a regular-season game Thursday.

Eight of nine Liberty players who attempted a 3-pointer made at least one from behind the arc as they finished 19-for-34.

Cloud and Kennedy Burke each drained four treys.

Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke of the New York Liberty celebrating after scoring against the Las Vegas Aces. Getty Images

Burke believes the Liberty coming off a hot shooting night should bode well for Saturday’s game.

“It builds momentum to the next game,” Burke said. “We got a tough matchup coming up and we just have to stay prepared offensively (and) defensively, we got to be better.”