Despite Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark being sidelined for the last four games due to a quad injury, the team has begun to click on the court without the guard running the offense. Without her over nine assists per game, Indiana was struggling to figure out where to find their facilitation from in their losses to the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun.
However, since signing Aari McDonald to a hardship deal, the team has taken a complete turn - they're 2-0 since signing her to the team, and her defense plus facilitation have helped land Indiana back within the top 5 of The Athletic's power rankings through about four weeks of WNBA action.
That leap from nine to five speaks volumes to how well Indiana has adjusted around McDonald and guard Sydney Colson, who has been placed in the starting lineup in place of Clark since she went down with her injury.
The perseverance being displayed by the Fever, despite it being against some weaker competition, should still be highlighted.
Fever rise in power rankings thanks to Aari McDonald, Aliyah Boston
Aside from McDonald, who has been outstanding off the bench for the Fever (and who has also forced some pretty uncomfortable conversation about a way for her to be kept on their roster), has provided the perfect spark off the bench for the Fever since being signed to a hardship deal last week.
Aliyah Boston has also figured out how to be just as dominant on the floor as McDonald in Clark's absence, and it's in major part due to her teammates remembering that if they simply feed her the ball in the post, she can more often than not figure out the rest. Boston is a star in her own right, and the Fever's last two games are proof of that given her high-percentage shooting performances.
READ MORE: Kelsey Mitchell ready for task that will define Caitlin Clark's return
The Athletic's Sabreena Merchant notched Indiana's next game against the Atlanta Dream as one to watch for WNBA fans for numerous reasons, like it having major implications in Commissioner's Cup standings, but mostly because Clark may very well return in this game.
"It’s the rubber match after the Fever and Dream split their first two games of the season. Atlanta is looking to rebound from its worst loss of the season, while Indiana will likely welcome back Caitlin Clark. There wasn’t much separation between the teams the first time around, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’ve evolved over the past two weeks. Beyond the Commissioner’s Cup implications mentioned earlier, the Fever and the Dream could be jockeying for playoffs seeding down the road, meaning the regular-season tiebreaker could come in handy," wrote Merchant.
Clark's return imminent?
Clark told reporters ahead of the Fever's game against the Chicago Sky this past weekend that she wouldn't want to push anything with her injury, but didn't vehemently rule out playing this Tuesday against the Dream in the same way that she did regarding their Sky matchup.
Atlanta is a tough opponent, but not as daunting as having your return be against a defender like Natasha Cloud for the New York Liberty on Saturday. So, a Dream game being her "soft" landing matchup is a bit funny, but probably Indiana's best bet for getting Clark acclimated again post-injury.