The Indiana Fever have lived up to the new slogan 'Fever Rising' the last several games. Riding a five a game winning streak, they're one of the most intimidating teams in the WNBA with a 17-12 record. They're winning and they've figured out how to do it without star guard, Caitlin Clark.
The Fever aren't a better team without Clark, but they have consistently proven they can play together and still be successful without her. It is this same confidence that currently has them sitting a half game back from fourth place after being in seventh just two weeks ago. The top eight teams clinch a playoff spot, but head coach Stephanie White's squad isn't going to settle for bottom.
One and half games is all that separates the Fever from the second place defending champion: New York Liberty. White should be credited for her staff's efforts to keep the team locked in all while blocking the outside noise and keeping them focused on the task at hand. In fact, the Fever's position of five games above .500 is the first time the franchise has achieved this in a decade.
The Fever have quickly climbed themselves to the top of the WNBA power rankings
This season hasn't gone completely as planned for the Fever after facing multiple injuries early on in the season and having players coming and going. It's been a challenge for them to find consistency without a full squad.
Clark's status as of Sunday still remains unknown, but one could wonder as long as the Fever continue to win, why rush her back? The team has had several contributions from up and down the entire roster from Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald, Natasha Howard and Fever veterans Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston - who was just named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Thus far it's easy to say the Fever have found the winning formula without Clark, which many were skeptical of when she suffered her most recent injury back on July 15. If there is any coach in the league that can get her team back on track, it's White.
READ MORE: Fever HC doubles down on slow approach to Caitlin Clark's injury timeline
The Fever are playing fast paced, are loaded with confidence, and play for each other, which makes them very difficult to beat. They can beat anybody - it's already been proven. Last month, they defeated the top seed Minnesota Lynx for the Commissioner's Cup championship without Clark, and they defeated the New York Liberty and the Phoenix Mercury - all top five teams.
Being winners of eight of their last 10 has rewarded them a solid spot in the WNBA's power rankings, according to The Athletic. The Fever catapulted into the third seed after being ranked in the fifth spot just last week.
They should be in the top three - they're dominating teams on the glass, playing with quick tempo making them a nightmare to defend, and hitting almost 40 percent of their 3-point attempts. The defensive side of the ball has been an area they needed to improve in to sustain balance.
Despite Lexie Hull's shooting production being down slightly, she's the best in the league at drawing offensive fouls and creating turnovers. Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell are the Fever's dynamic duo averaging 16 points a game.
Each of them are all complimented with a strong supporting cast in the Fever's newest members Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald. Howard controls the rim efficiently, Cunningham has quickly become one of their strongest 3-point shooters, and McDonald is basically a Kelsey Mitchell 2.0 - she can do it all despite her smaller stature.
The Fever are joined at the top of the power rankings with the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream - both teams they will face again in the coming weeks. They will look to continue to stack the victories against the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday before finishing off their week long road trip against the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.