Fever have found their winning formula by embracing star’s surprising new skill

When Caitlin Clark went down with a quad injury, the Indiana Fever struggled for a while. Then, players like Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Aliyah Boston stepped up their games. Boston’s evolution may be the most interesting out of the players who stepped up because of the skill she improved. 

Boston has been a solid playmaker all throughout her career. With Clark out, she really stepped up that part of her game. She went from averaging 2.3 assists per game before Clark’s injury to averaging 5.2 assists in her absence. 

Embracing Boston as one of the team’s main facilitators has worked out well for the Fever. 

Running the offense through Boston has been a winning formula

While Clark was out, the Fever had to change the way they played. They missed the engine and hub of everything they do offensively. When Clark returned, the Fever could have simply returned to their old ways, putting the ball in Clark’s hands whenever she is on the court and asking her to do most of the facilitating. 

Stephanie White didn’t do that, though. Instead, she leaned into Boston’s emergence as a great playmaker out of the post. The Fever continued to use Boston as a facilitator, allowing her to help Clark out with the playmaking load. 

In the two games with Clark back in the lineup, Boston dished out six and five assists. Both games resulted in big wins for the Fever, as they beat the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun on their way to the Commissioner’s Cup final. 

The takeaways from those games are simple. First, having Caitlin Clark in the lineup makes the Fever’s offense look much better. Secondly, utilizing Boston as a facilitator leads to wins. 

Boston could become one of the top playmakers at the center position

Boston has already established herself as one of the best young bigs in the WNBA. If the Fever continue to lean into her newfound passing, she could also quickly emerge as one of the top playmakers at the center position, following Alyssa Thomas’s example. 

Boston currently ranks first in assists per game among all centers with 4.2. That number puts her head of former MVPs A’ja Wilson and Jonquel Jones. Among forwards, she ranks third behind Alyssa Thomas and Gabby Williams. 

Honing this part of Boston’s game could also help the Fever further unlock Caitlin Clark. Defenses are zeroed in on Clark and always try to make her life as difficult as possible. Having someone who can orchestrate the offense in her place and get her the ball for easy shots should make her life easier.